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Italy bans OpenAI’s ChatGPT over security concerns of collecting users’ data ‘unlawfully’
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that quickly gained popularity among users for writing essays, generating content, composing poetry, simplifying complex information, and more. OpenAI’s ChatGPT was launched in November 2022 to impress people with its amazing capabilities. And now, due to privacy concerns, Italy bans OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
According to OpenAI’s chatbot privacy policy, the company “collects personal information such as name, email address, and payment information when necessary for business purposes.” New York Times report says that Italy became the first country to temporarily banned ChatGPT due to safety concerns. The Italian data protection authority has charged ChatGPT’s parent company, OpenAI, with “unlawfully collecting personal data from users.” The Italian government’s watchdog also mentioned ChatGPT’s data breach, which occurred on March 20. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also acknowledged the breach.
ChatGPT is intended for people over the age of 13. Thus, Italy’s data protection authority accused ChatGPT of not having a proper age verification system that could expose minors to “illicit material.” The Italian regulators, on the other hand, pointed out that there was no way to verify the user’s age. As a result, OpenAI has been told to block ChatGPT in Italy until the company can provide ‘additional information’ about these concerns. Before the Italian government makes a final decision on the fate of the AI chatbot in the country, the company has been given 20 days to show the material and “possible remedies.” Regulators in Italy have directed OpenAI to prevent internet users in the country from accessing ChatGPT until the company provides additional information. According to the report, OpenAI has 20 days to “provide the agency with the materials and possible remedies” before a final decision on the product’s future in the country can be made. Following Italy, Germany may reportedly prohibit the use of ChatGPT in the country. The German data protection commissioner has stated that the country may ban the viral AI chatbot due to data security concerns.