The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) launched a cross-border inquiry into Google’s handling of EU citizen’s data for its AI model PaLM2, questioning the tech giant’s compliance with privacy laws, the watchdog announced in a press release on Thursday (12 September).

The commission is looking into whether Google should have conducted an impact assessment of the processing of personal data before starting the activity, said the DPC.

Big tech companies’ processing of user data to train AI models is increasingly coming under scrutiny in the EU.

In June, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta, halted its AI rollout in Europe after a request from the DPC. The authority also went after X for processing user data without their consent.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) is required for any new project likely to involve a high risk to other people’s personal information.

“A DPIA, where required, is of crucial importance in ensuring that the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals are adequately considered and protected,” reads the DPC press release.

The new “cross-border” inquiry “forms part of the wider efforts of the DPC, working in conjunction with its EU/EEA peer regulators, in regulating the processing of the personal data of EU/EEA data subjects in the development of AI models” said the DPC.

“We take seriously our obligations under the GDPR and will work constructively with the DPC to answer their questions,” a Google spokesperson said in an email to Euractiv.

Last week, the DPC ended its court proceedings against social media platform X after the company agreed to permanently stop processing some personal data collected in the EU for training AI, but several questions regarding data protection and AI training remain unresolved.

Apple has said it will not release its Apple Intelligence in the EU, citing regulatory concerns around competition.

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