ChatGPT banned in Italy citing mass privacy concern

ChatGPT has reportedly been banned in Italy after the National Data Protection Authority raised concerns over privacy violation. The AI chatbot tool will be temporarily disabled throughout the country, while the necessary investigations are being conducted.

The ChatGPT AI chatbot was developed by OpenAI, a US-based company, and is slated to receive a more advanced system. The investigation was reportedly started against the parent company itself as the authorities have raised a few flags on its “mass data gathering” protocols.

However, the AI chatbot will be released once the company abides by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Let us take a closer look at the ban on ChatGPT in Italy and the associated concerns.

ChatGPT gets denied access in Italy over privacy violation concerns

ChatGPT privacy concerns

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The ChatGPT AI chatbot is an experimental tool that is under development and utilizes a massive amount of data to provide the required information to the userbase. It utilizes the network to sift through data and constructs the most relevant answers to the questions it is asked.

The Italian authorities have cited that this AI chatbot lacks some basic legal justifications for the collection and storage of personal data. This is a legitimate concern as the AI can record and build information acquired for an account. However, the company deemed these actions as a way to “train” the AI in the human world with real data.

The country’s administration has served OpenAI with a straightforward ultimatum. It has provided the company with a maximum of 20 days to present new plans to align the AI tool with EU’s privacy regulations. Failure to comply will lead to a penalty of up to 4% of the company’s global revenue.

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The privacy of every citizen in a country is a basic and fundamental right that the authorities must uphold at all times. The privacy of a person can be compromised on various fronts - physically and digitally. Considering that the digital footprint of most people has gone up, a large part of the identity, habits, and crucial information remains on the web.

These datasets require protection at all times and call for the involvement of the law to guarantee a checking system is in place. This further ensures that people can securely store their personal data without the risk of it leaking.

OpenAI is yet to respond to the authorities at the time of writing this article. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for the latest updates.

About the author

Krishanu Ranjan Sarma covers Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and Valorant content for the Esports & Gaming division at Sportskeeda, helping readers stay on top of the latest metas, strategies, and updates.

Krishanu was drawn to online video games when introduced to Dota 2 and the Counter-Strike titles as a teenager. He has since moved on to multiplayer shooters like Valorant, CS2, Call of Duty, and Apex Legends. Among these, he favors the fast-paced battle royale gameplay of Apex Legends; if given a chance, Krishanu would love to drop into the arena and learn the lore first-hand.

Krishanu follows official social media announcements, press releases, and live developer streams for news and updates. However, when it comes to in-depth guides, he draws on his gameplay knowledge to provide tried-and-tested tips and strategies.

Krishanu's content has raked in over 3 million reads in less than two years. He has interviewed many professional esports players, including Valorant stars Mimi, Juliano, Daiki, meL, and Roxi, as well as HLTV award winner and Counter-Strike 2 player Zywoo. He is an avid follower of Valorant esports tournaments, with Paper Rex (PRX) being his favorite.

In his downtime, Krishanu likes capturing moments on film and editing videos. He keenly observes different shots and production-grade lighting techniques when watching movies and TV shows. He also likes listening to music and discovering new genres.

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Edited by Abu Amjad Khan