The watchdog at the center of the development was identified as the Irish Data Protection Commission, Google's main data supervisor under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation.
"Google recently informed the Data Protection Commission of its intention to launch Bard in the EU this week ... [The watchdog] had not had any detailed briefing nor sight of a data protection impact assessment or any supporting documentation at this point," Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle was quoted as saying by US media, adding that "Bard will not now launch this week."
The Irish watchdog has asked for Google's detailed assessment and answers about how the AI complies with EU's data protection rules "as a matter of urgency" and was waiting for the answer. The issue was under "ongoing examination" by the watchdog, which would provide the information to other European data agencies "as soon" as possible.
ChatGPT language model, launched in late November, has received mixed reviews for its ability to mimic human conversation and generate unique text based on user input.
Some have praised the model for its professional applications, such as code development, while others have criticized its potential for abuse, such as students using the model to write essays.