My AI, Snapchat’s chatbot, could be banned in the UK

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) this Friday (6) warned that Snapchat My AI, its AI chatbot, was being used by children and teenagers. According to the UK data watchdog, the app has failed to adequately assess privacy risks, which could result in the technology being banned in the country.

What you need to know:

• The ICO found through internal investigations, “Snap’s troubling failure to identify and assess privacy risks for children” Chatbot users;
• It said My AI, launched in April, would be banned in the UK if the US company did not adequately address the regulator’s concerns;
• However, the inspector noted that the social network will give itself time to explain itself before applying any concrete measures.

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Preliminary findings from our investigation suggest Snap failed to adequately identify and assess privacy risks to children and other users before launching My AI.

John Edwards, ICO Member.

According to Reuters, the regulator highlighted that the outcome of the investigations does not mean the messaging app has breached British data protection laws, so it will await details of the company’s privacy process.

My AI went through a robust legal and privacy review process before being made publicly available. We will continue to work constructively with the ICO to ensure they are comfortable with our risk assessment procedures.

A Snap spokesperson said in a statement.

The ICO’s investigations focus on how My AI processes the personal data of around 21 million Snapchat users in the UK, including children and young people aged 13 to 17.

Launched in April, Snap’s chatbot is powered by technology from OpenAI, which is responsible for a spotlight on generative AI with the launch of ChatGPT. My AI integrates chat groups into the app and also recommends filters. Recently, the platform got another AI-based feature that turns selfies into digital illustrations.