On Friday, the Italian privacy regulator prohibited ChatGPT from operating due to suspected privacy breaches. The national data protection authority stated that it would immediately obstruct and probe OpenAI, the American corporation behind the prevalent artificial intelligence tool, from handling Italian user data. The directive is provisional until the organization complies with the EU's notable privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The demand to halt new ChatGPT releases and scrutinize its producer OpenAI for several privacy, cybersecurity, and disinformation risks is increasing on both sides of the Atlantic. Elon Musk and various AI professionals this week requested a break to ChatGPT updates. The consumer advocacy group BEUC also urged EU and national authorities, including data protection watchdogs, on March 30 to examine ChatGPT.
According to the authority, the company lacks a legal justification for the "mass collection and storage of personal data ... to 'train' the algorithms" of ChatGPT. Additionally, the company mishandles data, the authority said.
Last week, ChatGPT suffered a data breach which exposed users' conversations and payment information, the Italian authority said. It further stated that OpenAI does not verify the age of users and exposes minors to content that is "absolutely unsuitable" for their level of development and self-awareness.
Although OpenAI does not have an office in the EU, its representative in the European Economic Area has 20 days to provide a plan for bringing ChatGPT into compliance with EU privacy regulations. Otherwise, it may face a fine of up to 4% of its global revenue.
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