Snapchat’s AI chatbot could be a privacy threat for kids.

London:

Britain’s data watchdog said on Friday that Snapchat may have failed to properly assess the privacy risks posed by its artificial intelligence chatbot to children, adding that it would refrain from making any final enforcement decisions. Will consider the company’s response first.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said “myAI”, launched in April, could be banned in the UK if the US company fails to adequately address the regulator’s concerns.

Information Commissioner John Edwards said, “The provisional findings of our investigation show a serious failure by Snap to adequately identify and assess privacy risks to children and other users before launching ‘My AI.’ “

The regulator said the findings do not necessarily mean the instant messaging app, which is widely used by young people, is in breach of British data protection laws or that the ICO will issue an enforcement notice.

Snap said it is reviewing the ICO’s notice and is committed to consumer privacy.

“My AI went through a robust legal and privacy review process before it was made publicly available,” a Snap spokesperson said. “We will continue to work constructively with the ICO to ensure they are comfortable with our risk assessment methodology.”

The ICO is investigating how “My AI” processes the personal data of Snapchat’s nearly 21 million UK users, including children aged 13-17.

“My AI” is powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the most popular example of creative AI, which policymakers globally are exploring ways to regulate in light of privacy and security concerns.

Social media platforms, including Snapchat, require users to be 13 or older, but there has been mixed success in keeping children off their platforms.

Reuters reported in August that the regulator was gathering information to determine whether Snapchat was doing enough to warrant a takedown. Young consumers From its platform.