The Italian data-protection authority, Garante, has lifted the ban on the use of OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, in Italy after the company successfully addressed privacy concerns. OpenAI is a company backed by Microsoft, and the chatbot was suspended in early April over allegations that it had breached users’ privacy. OpenAI said it had introduced measures to ensure that users’ privacy was protected, including making its privacy policy more accessible to people before they registered for ChatGPT and introducing a new tool to verify the age of users.
The Italian regulator welcomed OpenAI’s measures but called for even more compliance. The regulator also called for an information campaign to inform Italians of what happened as well as their right to opt-out from the processing of their personal data for training algorithms. Garante said it would carry on its “fact-finding activities regarding OpenAI also under the umbrella of the ad-hoc task force that was set up by the European Data Protection Board.”
Millions of people have used ChatGPT since it launched in November 2022. The chatbot can answer questions using natural, human-like language, and it can also mimic other writing styles. Microsoft has spent billions of dollars on the technology, and it was added to Bing last month. The company has also said that it will embed a version of the technology in its Office apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Google’s rival artificial-intelligence chatbot, Bard, is now available, but only to specific users over the age of 18. OpenAI said it would offer a tool to verify users’ ages in Italy upon sign-up. The company also said it would provide a new form for European Union users to exercise their right to object to its use of personal data to train its models. An OpenAI spokesperson said the company appreciated Garante for being collaborative and that it would continue ongoing constructive discussions.
