Italy blocks ChatGPT and begins investigation into privacy issues

Italy’s data protection authority temporarily banned OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot on Friday and launched an investigation into the AI app’s suspected violation of data collection rules.

The agency, also known as Garante, accused Microsoft-backed ChatGPT of failing to verify the age of users 13 and older.

ChatGPT “has no legal basis to justify the massive collection and storage of personal data” to “train” the chatbot, Garante said. OpenAI has 20 days to respond to the remedies or face a fine of up to 4% of its annual global revenue.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ChatGPT was still answering questions sent to the platform by Italian users on Friday evening.

Italy, which temporarily restricted the use of personal data of ChatGPT’s domestic users, became the first Western country to take action against the AI-powered chatbot.

The chatbot is also not available in mainland China, Hong Kong, Iran and Russia, and parts of Africa where residents cannot create OpenAI accounts.

Since its launch last year, ChatGPT has sparked a technology craze that has seen competitors launch similar products and companies to integrate it or similar technologies into their apps and products.

The rapid development of technology has attracted the attention of legislators in several countries. Many experts say new regulations are needed to govern AI because it could affect national security, employment and education.

The European Commission, which is debating the EU’s artificial intelligence law, may not be inclined to ban artificial intelligence, European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager tweeted.

“No matter what #technology we use, we must continue to promote our freedom and protect our rights. That’s why we don’t regulate #AI technologies, we regulate the use of #AI,” he said. “Let’s not throw away in a few years what has taken decades to build.”

EK did not respond to a request for comment.

On Wednesday, Elon Musk and a group of AI experts and industry leaders called for a six-month pause in the development of systems more powerful than OpenAI’s recently launched GPT-4 in an open letter citing potential risks to society.

OpenAI has not provided details on how it trains its AI model.

“The lack of transparency is a real problem,” said Johanna Björklund, an artificial intelligence researcher and assistant professor at Umeå University in Sweden. “If you do AI research, you should be very open about how you do it.”

ChatGPT is estimated to have reached 100 million monthly active users in January, just two months after its launch, making it the fastest-growing consumer app in history, according to UBS research published last month.

Read all the Latest Tech News here.