ChatGPT banned in Italy over alleged privacy violations
On Friday, 31 March 2023, the Italian data protection regulator, the Garante, banned ChatGPT citing data privacy concerns.
The Garante ordered Chat GPT's maker, OpenAI, to immediately stop processing the personal data of Italian users pending further investigation. The Garante's concerns surround the unlawful collection of personal data of Italian users, specifically a lack of a legal basis for the mass collection and storage of personal data in order to train the ChatGPT algorithm. In addition, while ChatGPT is aimed at users over 13 years old, another area of Garante concern was the complete absence of any process to verify the age of users, which "exposes minors to absolutely unsuitable answers compared to their degree of development and awareness".
OpenAI's now has 20 days to communicate the measures it will take in relation to the Garante's request, otherwise a penalty may be imposed.
To read more about ChatGPT, please see our previous insight here.
