Rome: ItalyThe US privacy watchdog on Friday said it has blocked controversial bot ChatGPT, saying the artificial intelligence app does not respect user data and cannot verify the age of users.
The decision “with immediate effect” will result in a “one-off temporary limit on the processing of Italian user data”. OpenAI“, The Italian Data Protection Authority Said.
The agency has started investigation.
ChatGPT is built by US startup OpenAI and supported by MicrosoftCan clearly answer difficult questions, write codes, sonnets, or essays — even pass the toughest exams for students.
But the app, which appeared in November, is controversial, with teachers fearing students will use it to cheat, and policymakers worried about the spread of misinformation.
The watchdog said that on March 20, the app experienced a data breach involving user conversations and payment information.
It said there was “no legal basis to justify the large-scale collection and storage of personal data for the purpose of ‘training’ the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform”.
It also said that since there was no way to verify users’ age, the app “exposes minors to absolutely inappropriate answers compared to their degree of development and awareness.”
It said the company had 20 days to respond to how it would address the watchdog’s concerns, under a 20-million-euro ($21.7-million) fine, or up to 4 percent of annual revenue.
The move comes days after ChatGPT was blocked in Italy by the European Policing Agency europol warned that criminals were poised to use the app to commit fraud and other cybercrimes, from phishing to malware.
The decision “with immediate effect” will result in a “one-off temporary limit on the processing of Italian user data”. OpenAI“, The Italian Data Protection Authority Said.
The agency has started investigation.
ChatGPT is built by US startup OpenAI and supported by MicrosoftCan clearly answer difficult questions, write codes, sonnets, or essays — even pass the toughest exams for students.
But the app, which appeared in November, is controversial, with teachers fearing students will use it to cheat, and policymakers worried about the spread of misinformation.
The watchdog said that on March 20, the app experienced a data breach involving user conversations and payment information.
It said there was “no legal basis to justify the large-scale collection and storage of personal data for the purpose of ‘training’ the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform”.
It also said that since there was no way to verify users’ age, the app “exposes minors to absolutely inappropriate answers compared to their degree of development and awareness.”
It said the company had 20 days to respond to how it would address the watchdog’s concerns, under a 20-million-euro ($21.7-million) fine, or up to 4 percent of annual revenue.
The move comes days after ChatGPT was blocked in Italy by the European Policing Agency europol warned that criminals were poised to use the app to commit fraud and other cybercrimes, from phishing to malware.