EU Parliament restricts AI tool use over cybersecurity concerns

The European Parliament has reportedly blocked lawmakers from using built-in AI tools on their work devices due to significant cybersecurity and privacy risks associated with uploading confidential correspondence to the cloud, as reported by TechCrunch.

An internal email revealed that the parliament's IT department cannot guarantee the security of data uploaded to AI company servers, and the full extent of information shared is still under assessment. This decision impacts AI chatbots like Claude, Copilot, and ChatGPT, as data uploaded to these platforms could potentially be accessed by U.S. authorities or inadvertently shared with other users. AI models often use uploaded data for improvement, increasing the risk of sensitive information exposure.

This move highlights growing concerns in Europe regarding data protection and U.S. tech company compliance with EU regulations. It comes as the EU considers relaxing data protection rules for AI training, a move criticized for potentially favoring U.S. tech giants. The restrictions also reflect a broader trend of EU member states re-evaluating their reliance on U.S. technology, especially in light of U.S. government data access demands, such as recent subpoenas issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

Source: TechCrunch