ChatGPT is undoubtedly one of the biggest innovations in technology. Many states have raised privacy concerns as AI continues to grow and thrive.
Italy blocked ChatGPT alleging that the platform has no age verification and personal data is collected unlawfully. The announcement comes two days after an open letter called for a pause of all AI labs for at least six months.
The creator of ChatGPT may be violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to the Italian DPA, which recently opened an investigation.
ChatGPT – A Possible Threat?
ChatGPT is known for writing codes, sonnets, and essays and even helps students pass difficult exams. Therefore, teachers fear students will cheat, and policymakers fear the spread of false information.
According to the watchdog, the app suffered a data breach involving user chats and payment details on March 20.
“There was no legal basis to justify the mass collection and storage of personal data for the purpose of ‘training’ the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform.“
We took ChatGPT offline Monday to fix a bug in an open source library that allowed some users to see titles from other users’ chat history. Our investigation has also found that 1.2% of ChatGPT Plus users might have had personal data revealed to another user. 1/2
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) March 24, 2023
It also states that
“The app exposes minors to absolutely unsuitable answers compared to their degree of development and awareness.” because there was no way to confirm the users’ ages.
The company has 20 days to reply how it would address the issue, or else it will face a fine of up to $21.7 million.
OpenAI has still not commented on the issue.
