ChatGPT banned in Italy over privacy, data collection concerns
Calls have grown in the United States to stop development of the AI technology
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DataGrade founder Joe Toscano and MRC Free Speech America VP Dan Schneider said ChatGPT poses various dangers to jobs and information.
Italy’s privacy regulator ordered a ban Friday on ChatGPT over alleged privacy violations.
The Italian Data Protection Authority said it is blocking OpenAI from processing the data from American users, and has opened an investigation into the organization. The order lasts until OpenAI respects the EU’s privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
When implemented in 2018, the EU called GDPR the most sweeping change in data protection rules in a generation. It includes requirements for organizations anywhere around the world, which target or collect data related to people in the EU.
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ChatGPT, a generative AI bot designed by OpenAI, has been banned in Italy. ((Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Italy’s privacy organization also noted the risk of the AI bot providing inaccurate processing of personal data, and a lack of age verification to keep children from using the program.
If OpenAI does not take steps to comply with the GDPR, they could face financial penalties.
The controversial chat bot has also come under fire in the United States, with lawmakers calling for potential regulation, and tech experts encouraging a slowing of the technology's development.
If OpenAI does not take steps to comply with the EU's GDPR law, they could face financial penalties. (Leon Neal/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and other tech leaders have signed an open letter urging AI labs to pause the development of powerful new AI systems, citing potential risks to society.
The letter asks AI developers to "immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4."
Lawmakers in the United States have also weighed in on the need for regulation of the new technology.
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Tech experts in the United States have called for a slowing of the development of ChatGPT. ((Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
"I think what you have to do is to identify what is not allowed in terms of ethics and illegal activities, whether it is AI or not – you impose on AI activities the same level of ethics and privacy that you do for other competencies today," South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, a leader of the Senate AI Caucus, told Fox News Digital.
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"We have disabled ChatGPT for users in Italy at the request of the Italian Garante," an OpenAI spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "We are committed to protecting people’s privacy and we believe we comply with GDPR and other privacy laws. We actively work to reduce personal data in training our AI systems like ChatGPT because we want our AI to learn about the world, not about private individuals. We also believe that AI regulation is necessary — so we look forward to working closely with the Garante and educating them on how our systems are built and used."
"Our users in Italy have told us they find ChatGPT helpful for everyday tasks and we look forward to making it available again soon," the spokesperson added.
Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
