Italy has become the first Western country to block the advanced chatbot ChatGPT due to privacy concerns. ChatGPT is a model created by US start-up OpenAI and is backed by Microsoft. Millions of people have used ChatGPT since its launch in November 2022. It can answer questions using natural, human-like language and can mimic other writing styles, using the internet as its database. Microsoft has spent billions of dollars on it, and it was added to Bing last month.
The Italian data-protection authority said it would ban and investigate OpenAI "with immediate effect". It also said that it would investigate whether it complied with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which governs the way in which personal data can be used, processed and stored. The watchdog said that the app had experienced a data breach involving user conversations and payment information. It said that there was no legal basis to justify "the mass collection and storage of personal data for the purpose of 'training' the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform".
ChatGPT Face £20 million in fines
The Italian watchdog said that OpenAI had 20 days to address the watchdog's concerns or face a fine of €20 million ($21.7m) or up to 4% of annual revenues. Bard, Google's rival artificial-intelligence chatbot, is now available, but only to specific users over the age of 18 - because of the same concerns.
Consumer advocacy group BEUC called on EU and national authorities, including data-protection watchdogs, to investigate ChatGPT and similar chatbots, following the filing of a complaint in the US. Although the EU is currently working on the world's first legislation on AI, BEUC's concern is that it would take years before the AI Act could take effect, leaving consumers at risk of harm from a technology that is not sufficiently regulated.
OpenAI Said that it had disabled ChatGPT for users in Italy at the request of the Italian data protection regulator, called the Garante. "We are committed to protecting people's privacy and we believe we comply with GDPR and other privacy laws," it wrote. The organisation said it worked to reduce personal data in training AI systems like ChatGPT because it wanted its AI systems to "learn about the world, not about private individuals". OpenAI said it looked forward to making ChatGPT available in Italy again "soon".
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