As part of their investigation into OpenAI, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia (OIPC) has filed a production order, demanding that OpenAI turn over any relevant documentation to the use of personal information by the company in relation to the February 10 incident.
The OIPC launched the investigation after media reports connecting ChatGPT and the events leading up to the shooting.
Under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), the OIPC has jurisdiction over organizations that collect, use and disclose the personal information of people living in BC. “To collect, use or disclose information about a person in British Columbia, an organization must have legal authorization,” writes the OIPC, who became concerned about reporting on the connection ChatGPT and the event that occurred in Tumbler Ridge.
The OIPC’s investigation is focused on “whether the use of personal information (including as contained in and derived from prompts, uploaded content, usage data, interactions with other users) in the delivery of the service (i.e. ChatGPT responses) is one that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances, including the potential for responses to influence behaviour.”
As part of their investigation to determine whether a violation of BC’s PIPA had occurred, the OIPC approached OpenAI, asking for information about its policies, practices, and the specific interactions that its applications had with the user.
At the time, says the OIPC, OpenAI did not provide the information voluntarily, and so the OIPC launched an investigation in June.
According to the OIPC, OpenAI indicated that, consistent with its privacy commitments to its users, “it could only release that information pursuant to a legal proceeding.”
So in September, the OIPC issued an order in September.
A production order is a legal document issued by a judge that compels a person or organization not under investigation to produce specific documents or data to law enforcement.
This one asked OpenAI to turn over information using authorities given to the OIPC under PIPA.
But late in October, OpenAI petitioned the BC Supreme Court for Judicial Review of the Order and to challenge the investigation.
“As the matter of OpenAI’s judicial review of our order is before the courts and it is an active investigation, the OIPC will not be providing further information,” writes the OIPC. “Due to the sensitive nature of the subject matter of this investigation, the OIPC is limiting information disclosed publicly to what is strictly necessary.”
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
