Italy’s data protection authority has said that it’s willing to lift its ChatGPT ban if OpenAI meets specific conditions.
The Guarantor for the Protection of Personal Data (GPDP) announced last month that it was blocking access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The move was part of an ongoing investigation into whether the chatbot violated Italy’s data privacy laws and the EU’s infamous General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The GPDP was concerned that ChatGPT could recall and emit personal information, such as phone numbers and addresses, from input queries. Additionally, officials were worried that the chatbot could expose minors to inappropriate answers that could potentially be harmful.
The GPDP says it will lift the ban on ChatGPT if its creator, OpenAI, enforces rules protecting minors and users’ personal data by 30th April 2023.
OpenAI has been asked to notify people on its website how ChatGPT stores and processes their data and require users to confirm that they are 18 and older before using the software.
An age verification process will be required when registering new users and children below the age of 13 must be prevented from accessing the software. People aged 13-18 must obtain consent from their parents to use ChatGPT.
The company must also ask for explicit consent to use people’s data to train its AI models and allow anyone – whether they’re a user or not – to request any false personal information generated by ChatGPT to be corrected or deleted altogether.
All of these changes must be implemented by September 30th or the ban will be reinstated.
This move is part of a larger trend of increased scrutiny of AI technologies by regulators around the world. ChatGPT is not the only AI system that has faced regulatory challenges.
Regulators in Canada and France have also launched investigations into whether ChatGPT violates data privacy laws after receiving official complaints. Meanwhile, Spain has urged the EU’s privacy watchdog to launch a deeper investigation into ChatGPT.
The international scrutiny of ChatGPT and similar AI systems highlights the need for developers to be proactive in addressing privacy concerns and implementing safeguards to protect users’ personal data.
(Photo by Levart_Photographer on Unsplash)
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