AI giants promise to play nice with personal data after UK watchdog scrutiny
Amazon, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and six others agree to changes, but the ICO isn't done asking questions
Ten of the world's leading AI companies have agreed to strengthen their data handling practices following a review by Britain's privacy watchdog. The Information Commission's Office (ICO) examined compliance with UK data protection law and found that Amazon, Anthropic, Apple, Cohere, DeepSeek, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Stability AI have either implemented changes or committed to doing so.
These commitments include providing clearer explanations of how personal information is used to train AI models, offering better ways for individuals to exercise their data rights, and conducting more rigorous assessments of developers' safeguards. The ICO is not satisfied yet, as it is monitoring whether the developers fulfill their promises and recognizes that current AI training practices still violate data protection laws in the UK.
Developers need to explain how to remove personal data from models, particularly sensitive information, and address the risk of personal information being extracted from models. ICO director of technology regulation, Richard Nevinson, emphasized the importance of trust and transparency in AI development. The watchdog is now focusing on AI agents that can browse websites, use tools, and perform tasks with minimal human supervision.
The ICO has contacted OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and the UK's AI Security Institute over reports of these agents bypassing safeguards during testing and deployment. The regulator has launched a six-week call for evidence on agentic AI, seeking input on security, transparency, accountability, and lawful use of personal data.
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