Artificial Intelligence (AI) is recently used to perform various tasks. Chat GPT is an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched on November 30, 2022. ChatGPT can accept questions and tasks and give human-like responses, establishing a dialogue between humans and AI. For example, ChatGPT can write stories, website copy, create content for social media platforms, and even code.
So, if ChatGPT can write various texts, understandable by humans, can ChatGPT or another AI program write your website’s Privacy Policy too?
In this article, we will overview the ability of ChatGPT to write a Privacy Policy for a website and evaluate the quality of such Privacy Policy, if it can protect your business.
What is a Privacy Policy?
A Privacy Policy is a document that discloses what information you collect from your users and how you plan to use any personal information that you collect. A Privacy Policy could also be called a privacy statement or privacy notice. It serves as legal documents meant to protect both your business and users.
If your company collects any personal information from users, your company or website must have a Privacy Policy since it’s a legal requirement. There are many privacy laws, regulating the collection and management of users’ personal information. In Europe, there is the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive (Cookie Law). In the USA, there are the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Connecticut Privacy Act (CTDPA), Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), and other privacy regulations. There are also privacy laws in Brazil (LGPD), Canada (PIPEDA), and other countries.
Keep in mind, that privacy laws can apply outside of the state or country in which they are passed. For example, if your company is based in the USA, but has users from Europe, the GDPR also applies to you.
Privacy Policy should provide information about the company, tell users how their personal data is used, notify users about their rights, disclose the third parties, if any, that could access users' data, provide a legal basis for the data collection, describe a process for notifying users of changes or updates to the Privacy Policy. Different privacy laws have specific requirements.
Non-compliance with the privacy laws could lead to huge fines, from $2,500 per website user to €20 million or more.
Can ChatGPT Create a Privacy Policy?
If ChatGPT can perform many tasks, including writing various texts or documents, let’s ask it to write a Privacy Policy for a website, say CookieScript. Here is its response:
ChatGPT’s response to asking write a Privacy Policy.
It says, that ChatGPT can't create a Privacy Policy, it can just provide a general template that you can use as a starting point. However, the document lacks legal expertise and knowledge since it’s an AI, not a lawyer. Such a Privacy Policy, written by ChatGPT, is not a legally binding document, and is not compliant with privacy laws.
Let’s examine the AI-written template for a Privacy Policy in more detail, and what it lacks.
ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy is not based on any privacy laws
Privacy Policy must be based on the privacy laws that apply to the company. ChatGPT cannot determine what privacy laws apply because it does not know in which countries the company operates. As a result, if an AI cannot determine what privacy laws apply, it cannot create a Privacy Policy, based on a required law.
A business owner must read each privacy law, interpret the factors of who those privacy laws apply to, and determine what privacy laws apply to them. If the business owner is not an expert in the field, it’s a possibility that the Privacy Policy will not be based on the right privacy laws. The consequences could lead to lost users’ trust and fines.
In conclusion, ChatGPT generated Privacy Policy is not based on any privacy laws
ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy is not GDPR compliant
The business owner can tell ChatGPT which privacy law to use to generate a Privacy Policy. Let’s assume, that the company has users in Europe, and the GDPR should apply. You could ask ChatGPT to create a GDPR-compliant Privacy Policy.
ChatGPT’s response to asking write a GDPR-compliant Privacy Policy.
However, this information will not solve the problem. First, the AI tool assumes that this is indeed the case but cannot check if GDPR indeed applies to the company. The information you provided to the tool may be wrong.
Second, the GDPR is one of the strictest privacy laws in the world. GDPR has a very specific set of disclosures that it requires Privacy Policies to describe. In our test, the AI tool created a template for a Privacy Policy, but it did not provide all the required information. The missing data is the following:
- The information about the company and real contact details.
- The legal basis for collecting and processing the personal information.
- Consequences for not providing personal information.
- Whether personal information will be shared with third parties.
- The categories and names of third parties with whom personal information will be shared.
- The list of cookies and other tracking technologies used.
- How long personal information will be stored?
- If personal information is used for automated decision-making or profiling.
In conclusion, ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy is not GDPR compliant.
ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy is not CCPA compliant
You could ask ChatGPT to create a CCPA-compliant Privacy Policy. CCPA is not so strict as GDPR, for example, it does not require explicit cookie consent.
Our test showed that ChatGPT’s created Privacy Policy is also lacking some important information. The missing data is similar to the above-mentioned GDPR-compliant Privacy Policy case.
In addition, the AI-created Privacy Police did not disclose how my website respond to Do Not Sell My Personal Information signals. If you neglect this message from a user, your Privacy Policy will not comply with this law.
In conclusion, ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy is not CCPA compliant.
ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy does not fit actual business practices
Multiple privacy laws state that your Privacy Policy must be accurate and fit your actual business practices. When writing this Privacy Policy, ChatGPT did not ask us about our business practices, what personal information we collect, or how we manage or protect it. It did not ask about third parties and other data.
The AI-generated Privacy Policy states, that “We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction”. However, ChatGPT did not ask for this information either, so it does not know if we protect the personal information at all, and what measures we take. In case of a data breach, this can lead to lawsuits where users can claim that a reasonable expectation of security was established via your Privacy Policy, which wasn’t the case.
In conclusion, the ChatGPT-created Privacy Policy would not fit your actual business practices and thus would violate multiple privacy laws.
ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy will not update as the laws change
Privacy laws change constantly, countries introduce updates. Many new privacy laws come into effect. For example, in the USA, there are currently several privacy bills in various legislative stages and privacy laws going into effect in the coming one-two years.
While ChatGPT can provide you a template for a Privacy Policy, it will not follow the updates on privacy laws, and will not contact you to update your Privacy Policy when new laws are passed, or existing privacy laws change.
So even if you have expertise in the field and create a legally binding Privacy Policy, but do not follow the updates on privacy laws, your Privacy Policy will become outdated, and non-compliant with the privacy laws, and you risk getting fines.
Summary: Can You Use ChatGPT To Write Your Privacy Policy?
In conclusion, ChatGPT or other AI tools can create for you a template for a Privacy Policy, but not the Privacy Policy itself. ChatGPT itself recommends that you have a legal professional review the document. The ChatGPT-created Privacy Policy has the following issues:
- You have to be a legal professional to provide all needed information and ensure that the Privacy Policy meets all the necessary requirements and accurately reflects your website's data processing practices.
- ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy is not based on any privacy laws.
- ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy is not GDPR or CCPA compliant.
- ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy does not fit actual business practices.
- ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy will not update as the laws change.
Solution: How to Create a Privacy Policy for Your Website or a Company?
ChatGPT-written Privacy Policy is not a legally binding document and is not compliant with privacy laws. Such a Privacy Policy could lead to fines or law lawsuits in the case of data breach.
So, how do you create a Privacy Policy, if you are not a privacy expert and do not have the time to determine which privacy laws apply to your business? The best solution to obtaining a Privacy Policy is using an auto-updating Privacy Policy Generator like CookieScript Privacy Policy Generator.
CookieScript Privacy Policy Generator is a template for the Privacy Policy, which helps you to comply with GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy laws, plus with the requirements of Google products like Analytics & AdSense. CookieScript is a Google-certified CMP, included in the list of Google-certified CMPs.
Our Privacy Policy Generator automatically updates your Privacy Policy, so you do not need to follow the recent updates on privacy laws yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can ChatGPT create a Privacy Policy?
ChatGPT or other AI tools can create for you a template for a Privacy Policy, but not the Privacy Policy itself. The ChatGPT-created Privacy Policy has the following issues: ChatGPT-generated Privacy Policy is not based on any privacy laws, it is not GDPR or CCPA compliant, it does not fit actual business practices, and it will not update as the laws change. The best solution to obtaining a Privacy Policy is using an auto-updating Privacy Policy Generator.
What is a Privacy Policy?
A Privacy Policy also called a privacy statement or privacy notice, is a document that discloses what information you collect from your users and how you plan to use any personal information that you collect. It serves as legal documents meant to protect both your business and users. Use Privacy Policy Generator to create a professional and auto-updating Privacy Policy for your business or website.
How to create a Privacy Policy for my website?
It’s not advised to use AI tools to create a Privacy Policy for your website since AI tools can create just a template for a Privacy Policy, but not the Privacy Policy itself. Use Privacy Policy Generator to create a professional and auto-updating Privacy Policy for your business or website.
Can I write my own privacy policy for my website?
Yes, you can write your own privacy policy. You don't need to hire a lawyer to write a policy for your website or app — use Privacy Policy Generator to create a professional and auto-updating Privacy Policy for your website or app.
Do I need a privacy policy for my website?
Yes, you need a privacy policy on your website. If you collect personal information from users, many privacy laws require you to have a privacy policy on your website or app that explains how you collect users’ personal information, for what reasons, and what you do with it. Use CookieScript Privacy Policy Generator to create a professional and auto-updating Privacy Policy for your website or app.