In Italy, access to the ChatGPT chatbot has been restored. The Italian data protection authority banned it in early April due to privacy concerns. It stated that its privacy policy was now available to people before they registered for ChatGPT and that a new tool was available to verify the age of users. The Italian data protection authority, Garante, had temporarily restricted the chatbot and launched an investigation into the suspected breach of the artificial intelligence application.
After Garante accused OpenAI of failing to verify the age of ChatGPT users, who are supposed to be 13 or older, OpenAI stated that it would provide a tool to verify users’ ages in Italy upon sign-up. OpenAI also stated that it would create a new form for European Union users to use to exercise their right to object to its use of personal data to train its models.
According to Technology News UK, the Italian regulator told the BBC that it “welcomed the measures OpenAI implemented” but that more compliance was needed. The spokesperson emphasised the importance of “implementing an age verification system and planning and carrying out an information campaign to inform Italians of what happened as well as their right to opt-out from the processing of their data for training algorithms.” Garante stated that it would continue its “fact-finding activities regarding OpenAI under the umbrella of the ad hoc task force established by the European Data Protection Board.”
An OpenAI spokesperson stated that the company appreciated the Garante’s collaboration and would continue to have constructive discussions.
