Italian authorities have instructed OpenAI, which is held by Microsoft, to immediately cease data processing from Italian consumers for general AI models.
The creator of ChatGPT may be infringing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to Italian authority Garante, which has started an investigation.
In order to prevent a penalty of up to 20 million euros or 4 percent of its total annual worldwide revenue, OpenAI must inform the Italian regulators of the steps undertaken to comply with the decision within 20 days.
“There is no way ChatGPT can continue to process data in breach of privacy laws. The Italian SA has imposed an immediate temporary limitation on the processing of Italian users’ data by OpenAI, the US-based company developing and managing the platform. An inquiry into the facts of the case was initiated as well,” the regulator noted.
The business that developed ChatGPT, OpenAI, said a few weeks ago that after it pulled ChatGPT down because of an issue previously this week, some users’ financial data might have been publicly disclosed.
It’s important to note that OpenAI does not possess a proper legal presence in the EU. Under the GDPR, any data security agency may take immediate action if it detects dangers to local users.
Last but not least, the Italian regulatory authorities stressed that even though the service is reportedly destined for users over the age of 13, according to OpenAI’s terms of service, the absence of an age verification method reveals children to receiving replies that are totally inappropriate for their age and level of awareness.
The Italian regulator’s directive was still awaiting a response from OpenAI. Earlier, the Italian data protection commission is looking into possible breaches of the regulations regulating data collection by AI-enabled applications with regard to the OpenAI ChatGPT chatbot.
The organization also accused ChatGPT, which is funded by Microsoft, of neglecting to confirm the users’ ages. According to reports, users of the application must be at least 13 years old.
The business claimed in a release that it has temporarily restricted the chatbot’s accessibility to Italian consumers’ personal data. OpenAI did not immediately return to a message requesting a response.
ChatGPT caused a tech fever when it was released last year, pushing opponents to develop better products and businesses to integrate it or related systems into their products and applications.
The Italian agency alleged “the absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data in order to ‘train’ the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform”.
