When AI hallucinates facts about individuals: Personal data and accuracy under the GDPR
AI systems that generate false information about real people may create legal obligations under GDPR, which requires that personal data be accurate. The piece examines how hallucinated outputs about individuals fit within that framework.
Why this matters: If an AI makes up a fact about you — a criminal record, a job title, a quote you never said — that invented detail is still, under GDPR, personal data about you. Accuracy is a core principle in the law. That means organizations using AI to produce content about real people may already have legal exposure every time the model gets something wrong. The question is not whether hallucinations happen. Everyone knows they do. The question is who is responsible for cleaning up the record when they happen to land on a real person's life.
Who should care: Lawyers · Privacy officers · AI governance · General readers · Policy
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