ChatGPT Accused of Privacy Violations by Italian Watchdog

• Italian regulators have informed OpenAI about violations of the European Union’s data privacy rules by ChatGPT.
• OpenAI has been given 30 days to reply to the allegations, and the company has stated its intention to work with regulators on the investigation.

Garante, the Italian data protection authority, has informed ChatGPT-maker OpenAI of violations of privacy regulations in the European Union, potentially resulting in significant monetary penalties to the AI company. The violations are allegedly related to the mass collection of user data and OpenAI’s failure to control content unsuitable for minors.

Italy’s stance towards OpenAI and ChatGPT has historically been tough. It was the first country to block ChatGPT in its borders in 2023 over privacy concerns. It set up a special task force and initiated an investigation at the time. It has now stated that they have found data privacy violations per the EU GDPR.

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While the Italian government allowed ChatGPT to operate in the country, following changes by the company, it has continually pushed for greater compliance. OpenAI has 30 days to respond to the allegations and present its defense. If found guilty under the GDPR laws, the company could be fined up to 4% of its global turnover in penalties.

OpenAI has been pushing to implement an age verification system in addition to an awareness campaign for Italian users about opting out from the collection and processing of personal data for AI model training operations. A company spokesperson stated that it would cooperate with authorities on the investigation. The investigation will also likely have implications for Microsoft, which has invested billions in OpenAI and integrated its technology into key products.

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