Could the rest of Europe follow suit?

ChatGPT stock photo 11

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

TL;DR

  • Italy has banned ChatGPT due to privacy and data collection concerns.
  • The Italian data protection authority has given OpenAI 20 days to address its concerns.

While the AI ​​revolution is all the rage, there are too genuine concerns about the spread of disinformation and how generative AIs like it ChatGPT And Bard handle user privacy. So much so that a Western nation has now banned ChatGPT outright.

The Italian Data Protection Authority blocked ChatGPT with immediate effect on Friday. The regulator said it would ban and investigate OpenAI over privacy concerns.

Millions of users have used ChatGPT since its inception. Microsoft is also investing heavily in the AI ​​after backing OpenAI with billions of dollars.

However, the Italian watchdog is not convinced that OpenAI’s chatbot complies with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

In its statement, the authority accused OpenAI of unlawfully processing user data. It also highlighted the data breach the AI ​​suffered last month when a conversation history feature leaked users’ chats and payment information.

“No information is provided to users and data subjects whose data is collected by Open AI. There appears to be no legal basis for the massive collection and processing of personal data to “train” the algorithms the platform relies on, the Garante wrote in its statement.

In addition, the regulator expressed concern over the technology’s inability to detect the age of its users and prevent minors from using it. Google’s rival, AI Bard, on the other hand, is only available to users over the age of 18.

OpenAI has 20 days to respond to the Garante’s order or face severe penalties.