The German data watchdog has opened an administrative proceeding against Open AI, the firm that developed ChatGPT. It aims to determine what data was used for training artificial intelligence and on what regulatory basis it was used. Further proceedings will depend on the outcome of this investigation.

Dieter Kugelmann, head of the German state task force on artificial intelligence, states that consent is mandatory when personal data is used for AI training. Failing to obtain such consent violates European privacy laws, which would ultimately make it illegal for ChatGPT to operate.

The Data Protection Commissioners of the German states have joined forces on this issue and have written a joint letter explaining the procedure and the aim.