ChatGPT, OpenAI’s AI chatbot, could be back on the Italian market soon if the company manages to comply with a series of requirements demanded by the Italian Data Protection Authority (the Garante). In early February, the Garante issued a temporary ban on ChatGPT amidst data privacy concerns. To lift the ban, OpenAI must follow certain conditions regarding its data processing until April 30.
OpenAI welcomed the regulators’ step and expressed their wishes to make ChatGPT available to Italian users soon. The company is currently suggesting measures to address the privacy worries. However, the Garante imposed a raft of regulations that must be fulfilled by OpenAI by April 30 in order for the chatbot to be reactivated in the country.
The regulations require OpenAI to inform users and non-users of the reasons behind ChatGPT’s data processing, as well as provide them with the option to edit or delete their personal data. Meanwhile, the company must also look into obtaining consent or establishing legitimate interests to be able to use user data in training their AI models.
Apart from this, OpenAI is requested to conduct an awareness campaign by mid-May that would include advertising its data processing measures on the radio, TV, newspapers, the web and other media. In addition, the company must also verify the ages of its users and have a system in place to bar minors below thirteen and individuals between thirteen and eighteen who lack parental consent from using its services.
OpenAI is a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence research laboratory created by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and other prominent names. The company has worked on several interesting projects over the years, such as the development of text generation models (GPT-3) used to develop generative AI technology like ChatGPT. Such AI technologies have become an increasingly popular field in recent years, with many countries including France and Canada turning their attention to regulating and scrutinizing these models.
