Italy lifts block on ChatGPT, AI chatbot owner says
Italy has lifted its block on ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot, after temporarily banning it over data privacy concerns. The news was announced by the chatbot's owner, OpenAI, on Friday.
ChatGPT became an instant sensation when it was launched last year for generating essays, songs, exams, and even news articles from brief prompts. However, critics raised concerns about how ChatGPT and its competitors collect and use the personal data of their users.
In March, Italy became the first Western country to take action against the popular AI chatbot. The country's data protection watchdog had said that OpenAI had no legal basis for justifying the mass collection and storage of personal data for training the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform. The authority also highlighted a lack of clarity over whose data was being collected. As a result, they temporarily banned ChatGPT.
OpenAI now has information on its website about how the platform collects and uses training data. They also have greater visibility of their data privacy policy on the homepage of ChatGPT and OpenAI. The company has implemented a tool to verify the age of users in Italy once they log in.
The Italian Authority has acknowledged the steps taken by OpenAI to respect people's rights and combine technological progress. The artificial intelligence chatbot is now available again to users in Italy.
