TEN major AI firms, including Amazon, Anthropic, Apple, Cohere, DeepSeek, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and Stability AI, have pledged or committed to strengthen data protection policies in the UK after the ICO urged clearer transparency around how personal data is processed for training models. The commitments cover clearer transparency, better mechanisms for exercising rights, and tougher assessments of safeguards.
The ICO’s accompanying report on data privacy in agentic AI, published on 8 October, asks foundation model developers to ensure clear data protection policies are in place when processing personal data for training. The watchdog requires that companies identify a lawful basis, provide meaningful transparency, enable rights requests, and show safeguards to materially reduce risk.
The ICO has launched a six-week call for evidence, inviting input from developers, deployers, and privacy and security experts on managing data protection risks posed by agentic AI. Responses are due by 20 November. Separately, the regulator said it is advancing investigations into X Internet Unlimited Company (XIUC) and X[.]AI LLC (X[.]AI) over Grok AI’s processing of personal data and its potential to generate harmful sexualised content.
The ICO emphasised ongoing monitoring of AI developments and the increasing personalisation of consumer-facing AI services, stating it will intervene where safeguards are insufficient and that robust data protection is essential to public trust in AI innovation. The agency also signalled forthcoming guidance and a statutory code of practice on AI and automated decision-making.