Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the way European companies work. Public language models help write emails, analyze documents, and create reports. But have you ever wondered what happens to the data you enter into the chat window?
The answer may be concerning, especially in the context of European law and GDPR regulations.
Where Does Data from Public Cloud AI Go?
When you use free versions of popular AI assistants or standard APIs from global operators, your data:
- 🌐 Goes to external servers – often outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
- 🧠 May be used to train models – unless you manually disable this option.
- 👁️ Is processed by third parties – according to the cloud provider’s privacy policy.
- 🛡️ Passes through monitoring systems – to detect abuse and inappropriate content.
⭐ Real-life example: A law firm from Warsaw pasted a fragment of a client agreement into a public AI chat, asking for a review of the clauses. The contract contained an NDA clause and personal data of the parties. This information left Poland’s borders and ended up on foreign servers – without the client’s consent and without a data processing agreement.
What Does GDPR Say?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes clear obligations on companies:
1. Legal Basis for Processing
Every use of personal data requires a legal basis. If you paste data about clients, employees, or contractors into an external AI tool, you must have appropriate consent or another basis from Article 6 GDPR.
2. Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
If you transfer personal data to an external entity, you must sign a data processing agreement in accordance with Article 28 GDPR. Without this document, processing is legally risky.
3. Data Transfer Outside the EU
Transferring data to third countries (e.g., the USA) requires additional safeguards. After legal complications regarding cross-ocean data transfers, this is a high-risk area for data controllers.
❌ Most Common Mistakes by European Companies
- Pasting Client Data Without Consent: Names, surnames, and email addresses are protected personal data.
- Analysis of HR Documents: Candidates’ CVs or employment contracts should absolutely not end up in public AI tools.
- Processing Trade Secrets: Business strategies and financial data can leak and end up in the model’s knowledge base.
- Lack of AI Usage Policy: Most companies don’t have internal procedures defining what can and cannot be pasted into public chats.
✨ Safe Alternative: Private AI Hosting
Does this mean European companies must give up on AI? Absolutely not.
The solution is to use private AI instances (like the ⭐ PrivatAI.pl model) that:
✅ Run on European servers – data doesn’t leave the region.
✅ Don’t train models on your data – you have full control over information.
✅ Are GDPR compliant – you operate within a trusted, local infrastructure.
✅ Offer top-tier capabilities – models like Gemma 2 match commercial solutions in quality.
🚀 Want to Use AI in Compliance with GDPR?
Try PrivatAI.pl – European AI environment with full data control and regulatory compliance.