OpenAI, a technology company backed by Microsoft, has reportedly been notified by Italy's data protection authority of suspected violations of European Union privacy laws.
The investigation pertains to the company's AI chatbot, ChatGPT, which relies heavily on large amounts of internet data. While the Italian authority has not disclosed the specifics of their draft findings, they have provided OpenAI with 30 days to respond to the allegations.
Last year, Italy's watchdog, Garante, briefly banned ChatGPT due to alleged breaches of EU privacy rules, marking it as the first Western country to take such action in March 2023. The regulator had previously expressed concerns about OpenAI's compliance with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which led to a temporary ban on ChatGPT's local data processing and the chatbot being suspended from the market. ChatGPT was reinstated approximately four weeks later after successfully addressing the issues outlined by the DPA.
The regulator is concerned about younger users encountering inappropriate content generated by ChatGPT and has concluded, based on available evidence, that there were violations of the GDPR provisions.
It is noteworthy that companies found violating the rules can be fined up to 4% of their global turnover under the GDPR.
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