The Italian government has ordered OpenAI to immediately stop processing people’s data locally, citing concerns that the maker of ChatGPT is violating the European Union‘s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Italian Data Protection Authority (DPA) has launched an inquiry into the matter.
The Garante, Italy’s DPA, has specifically ordered ChatGPT to be blocked in the country due to several concerns, including the possibility that OpenAI may have processed people’s data illegally.
The absence of a system to restrict minors from accessing the technology is another justification for the order. ChatGPT has 20 days to respond to the directive, and failure to do so may result in stiff fines.
It is well established that GDPR applies in situations where the personal data of EU users is processed, and it is clear that OpenAI’s huge language model has been processing this kind of data.
However, OpenAI has declined to provide more information about the data utilized for the most recent version of the technology, GPT-4. Earlier models were trained using data extracted from websites like Reddit.
It has been claimed that ChatGPT has been spreading fake information about specific people, which backs up the assertion that the software’s training data is inadequate. These incidents have raised GDPR concerns.
The data breach that the service experienced earlier this month was also a major topic of the Garante statement. OpenAI acknowledged that a conversation history feature had been disclosing users’ chats and claimed it may have done so in conjunction with the disclosure of some users’ payment information.
If it is established that OpenAI did indeed process Europeans’ personal data unlawfully, DPAs all throughout the union may compel its deletion.
The DPA clarified that the Garante has raised concerns about the lack of transparency provided to users and other interested parties whose data OpenAI collects. They also highlighted the lack of a legal foundation for the widespread gathering and storage of personal data with the intention of “training” the platform’s operating algorithms.
The DPA is still concerned about the possibility that OpenAI will process the data of minors because the firm does not have any safeguards in place to prevent anyone under the age of 13 from signing up to use the chatbot, such as age verification software.
ChatGPT Banned
In Summary, the Italian government’s order to ban ChatGPT due to GDPR concerns highlights the need for companies to be transparent about their data processing practices and to have appropriate safeguards in place to protect users’ privacy, especially when it comes to minors.
OpenAI’s response to the Garante’s inquiry will determine the fate of ChatGPT in Italy and may set a precedent for other countries in the EU.