EDPB issues Opinion on use of personal data in AI models



The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has today published an Opinion on the use of personal data for the development and deployment of AI models. The Data Protection Authorities studied, at the request of Ireland’s Data Protection Commission:

  • When and how AI models can be considered anonymous
  • Whether and how legitimate interest can be used as a legal basis for developing or using AI models, and
  • What happens if an AI model is developed using personal data that was processed unlawfully.

The EDPB considers that for a model to be anonymous, it should be very unlikely:

  1. To directly or indirectly identify individuals whose data was used to create the model, and
  2. To extract such personal data from the model through queries.

When preparing the Opinion, the EDPB organised a stakeholders’ event and exchanged views with the EU AI Office.

Commissioner Dale Sunderland from Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said:

“This opinion will enable proactive, effective and consistent regulation across the EU/EEA, giving greater clarity and guidance to industry, while promoting responsible innovation. It will also support the DPC’s engagement with companies developing new AI models before they launch on the EU market as well as the handling of the many AI related complaints that have been submitted to the DPC.”

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PL&B has organised a one-day conference on 6 February 2025 in Dublin on the regulatory issues when expanding data opportunities in Ireland.