Blow for ChatGPT: Italy has just banned the use of the star AI with immediate effect! Reasons: the lack of respect for the privacy of users, breaches of the GDPR and the lack of protection of minors.
ChatGPT never stops unleashing passions. Everyone marvels at the incredible capabilities of the chatbot, capable of writing term papers as well as writing computer code, and all the big tech players have embarked on a mad rush to integrate AI to their products, starting with Microsoft and Google. But this frenzy, and the excesses it generates, are increasingly worrying. To the point that some are thinking of curbing the movement. This is the case of Italy, which has just officially banned ChatGPT. As announced in a press releasethe data protection authority of the country (Guarantor for the protection of personal data ) blocked “with immediate effect” access to the chatbot, which has the effect “the temporary limitation of the processing of data of Italian users vis-à-vis OpenAI”, while launching an investigation into OpenAI, the company that created AI. A radical decision to say the least!
ChatGPT banned: a dangerous and invasive AI
The authority invoked several reasons to justify its decision. She first invoked the security breach that took place on March 20, revealed by Business Insider, which resulted in the conversations and payment information of users who subscribed to ChatGPT Plus, the paid version of the AI, being exposed for all to see – in addition to conversation snippets, emails and Phone numbers were also mixed up between users. She also pointed to the lack of a legal basis to justify “the massive collection and storage of personal data for the purpose of ‘training’ the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform”, which is a breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Finally, she pointed out that the chatbot does not verify the age of users, which “exposes minors to responses that are absolutely unsuited to their level of development and awareness”especially since the company indicates in its legal notices that it only addresses users who are at least 13 years old.
OpenAI now has 20 days to respond to the concerns of the Italian authority, under penalty of a fine of up to 20 million euros or 4% of its annual turnover. Italy’s ChatGPT ban comes days after European law enforcement agency Europol raised the alarm about the use of the chatbot by criminals to commit fraud and other cybercrimes – hackers snitch are used, for example, to easily create malicious code and develop new attacks (see our article). By the way, ChatGPT is not the only AI to raise such concerns. Its rival Bard, created by Google, is only accessible to certain users over the age of 18, due to the same problems. Similarly, Snapchat’s chatbot, Snapchat My AI, gives dangerous advice to teens, including on sex and domestic abuse, while other virtual “friends” outright urge their users to commit suicide…
The ban on ChatGPT in Italy has drawn mixed reactions from players in the artificial intelligence sector. OpenA said it is aware of the Italian authority’s decision and is working with it to address its concerns and ensure GDPR compliance. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, voiced support for the ban, saying it illustrated the need for a moratorium on the development of advanced artificial intelligence. Not surprisingly, given that a few days ago he shared an open letter signed by more than 1,000 experts and personalities from the world of technology, calling for a pause in the development of these artificial intelligences and believing that the race to the performance was out of control (see our article). Other players, such as Google or Facebook, have not yet officially reacted to the ChatGPT ban in Italy. So, who’s next ?