ChatGPT Returns To Italy After Ban Over Privacy Violations Was U-Turned
In March, the Italian government announced banning OpenAI’s popular chatbot service ChatGPT from the country.
The Garante data protection authority noted concerns over how the artificial intelligence was using data to train its machines and that it had violated the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). There was also a lack of age requirements in place to prevent children from using the site.
we’re excited chatgpt is available in 🇮🇹 again!
— Sam Altman (@sama) April 28, 2023
In order to protect the personal information of users around the country, officials wanted the site to be prohibited from availability in Italy. However, Garante had given OpenAI until the end of the month to solve the privacy issues before it was allowed to be reinstated.
Garante outlined that there had to be a notice under the privacy warnings on the website that gave users insight into how the company would collect their data and utilize it to teach the machine. Other measures include the age verification system and the right for Italians to opt out of processing their personal data.
In response, OpenAI has added new privacy controls and an incognito mode that gave people the right to have their chat history deleted and to bar the company from using their data for training purposes. TechCrunch also reports that Italian users now also get a pop-up that asks them to confirm whether they are over 18 years of age. Those between 13 and 17 must acquire a parent’s or guardian’s consent before entering the site.
[via Reuters and Engadget, ID 275907271 © Waingro | Dreamstime.com]
