OpenAI may soon get a green light in Italy
Italian watchdog Grante asked OpenAI to inform Italian users of the ‘methods and logic’ behind the processing of data necessary for ChatGPT to operate
- New Delhi,
- Updated Apr 13, 2023, 7:47 AM IST
Italy may soon resume ChatGPT services after a ban imposed just weeks ago. Italian data protection agency, Garante has set out a list of demands for OpenAI to address its concerns over ChatGPT and allow the chatbot service to resume in the country. This comes almost two weeks after Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy following Garante’s temporary restrictions on personal data processing due to a suspected breach of privacy rules.
In a statement on Wednesday, cited by Reuters, Garante laid out a set of demands that OpenAI will have to comply by the end of this month. It stated that “only in this case… the authority will suspend the provisional restrictions on the use of the data of Italian users…and ChatGPT will once again become accessible in Italy.”
OpenAI has been asked to inform Italian users of the “methods and logic” behind the processing of data necessary for ChatGPT to operate. It also requested that OpenAI provide tools to enable people whose data is involved, including non-users, to request the correction of personal data inaccurately generated by the service or its deletion if a correction is not possible.
Additionally, OpenAI should allow non-users to oppose the processing of their personal data to run its algorithms in a simple and accessible manner, the regulator said. The company was also asked to introduce an age verification system capable of excluding users under 13 by the end of September.
Garante reserved the right to impose any other measures needed at the end of its ongoing probe, in which it continues to investigate potential breaches of data protection rules by OpenAI.
The Italian move on ChatGPT has attracted the attention of other privacy watchdogs in Europe, who are studying whether harsher measures are needed for chatbots and whether to coordinate. Spain’s data protection agency has asked the European Union’s privacy watchdog to evaluate privacy concerns surrounding ChatGPT.
Many experts say that new regulations are needed to govern AI due to its potential impact on national security, jobs, and education. In February, the Italian regulator banned AI chatbot company Replika from using the personal data of users in Italy, citing risks to minors and emotionally fragile people.
Published on: Apr 13, 2023, 7:47 AM IST