In the first half of this year, 682 compliance investigations were launched, of which 176 ended with findings.Continue reading
The Hungarian Competition Authority has initiated proceedings against Microsoft for alleged unfair practices against Hungarian consumers with its new search engine service.
The statement noted that in February, the software vendor integrated an artificial intelligence-based chat function – similar to ChatGPT – into its Bing search system, helping answer questions on the search interface, using content, data, and information shared by users for machine learning.
However, according to the authority, the company appears to not be providing consumers with information about the service with the level of expertise and professional care that could reasonably be expected.
They consider that it may be unlawful not to inform consumers about the completeness of the service, the reliability, timelines, the validity of response,s and the data management associated with its use.
They allege that
consumers may not be adequately informed about how their shared data is used to train the AI algorithm, the extent to which it displays them in response to other users’ searches, and how to remove this data from the system.
It was pointed out that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also opened an investigation into another AI-based chat service, ChatGPT, operated by OpenAI, at essentially the same time as the Hungarian Competition Authority did with that of Microsoft.
The US regulator is also investigating the likely unfairness of its practices in relation to data management and service risks.
In a statement, the agency remarked that the Hungarian Competition Authority has been paying close attention to the market conduct of large technology companies for some time. In recent years, it has imposed competition remedies on Google and PayPal, among others, and Apple and Booking.com have paid significant competition fines in Hungary. The authority is currently investigating the behavior of Viber, part of the Rakuten group, and TikTok, operated by ByteDance as well.
The organization stresses that the opening of proceedings does not imply a finding that the company has committed a crime. The procedure is aimed at clarifying the facts and proving the alleged infringement.
Via MTI, Featured photo via Piexels
