Google Bard launch in EU delayed due to privacy concerns

While Bard was recently expanded to over 180 countries worldwide, it excluded the EU, and now it appears that the launch in the region won't happen anytime soon.

The Irish Data Protection Commission has raised concerns about how Google plans to protect EU citizens' privacy with Bard. The commission stated that Google has not provided sufficient information regarding privacy safeguards, prompting an ongoing examination and resulting in the delay of Bard's launch in the EU. Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle confirmed that the launch, originally planned for this week, will not proceed.

In a similar area, OpenAI's generative AI chatbot ChatGPT successfully launched in the EU, but ran into its own regulatory problems. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman briefly considered withdrawing ChatGPT from the EU because of incoming regulatory requirements, but he later reversed that statement.

Microsoft's Bing AI, powered by OpenAI's GPT-4, is also available in Europe, but is under scrutiny by an EU task force examining AI products.

Google, in response to the report, stated that they are committed to making Bard more widely available, including in the European Union. They emphasized their responsibility to engage with experts, regulators, and policymakers before proceeding with the launch.