Italy Raises Privacy Concerns Over OpenAI’s Actions
MILAN: Italy’s data protection authority told OpenAI on Monday that its artificial intelligence app ChatGPT violates data protection rules.
After an investigation launched last year, the regulator believes there are elements that point to possible violations, it said in a statement.
It added that OpenAI has 30 days to present its defense arguments.
ChatGPT was briefly banned by Italy’s data protection authority last year for allegedly violating EU data protection rules.
As recently as April last year, the Italian agency accused OpenAI of failing to verify the age of ChatGPT users and criticized the “absence of any legal basis” that would justify the massive collection and retention of personal data.
In its statement, the Data Protection Agency set out a number of “concrete” requirements that must be met at the earliest. Italy was the first Western European country to oppose OpenAI, but the rapid development of the technology has attracted the attention of lawmakers and regulators in several countries.
Many experts say new regulations are needed to govern AI because of its potential implications for national security, employment and education.
