ChatGPT Rolls Out Service in Italy Weeks After Ban

OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT officially rolled out its service in Italy a few weeks after the company announced a set of privacy controls for its generative AI chatbot.

Currently, web users accessing ChatGPT from an Italian IP address are no longer met with a notification telling them that the service is disabled for users in Italy. Rather, they are met with a warm note saying “OpenAI is pleased to resume offering ChatGPT in Italy”.

Users are further mandated to be +18 and above to access the chatbot, or 13+ with consent from a parent or guardian to use the service.

The changes in how OpenAI presents ChatGPT to users in Italy are intended to satisfy an initial set of conditions set by the local data protection authority (DPA) for it to resume service with managed regulatory risk.

ChatGPT commencement of operation in Italy is coming after it was banned by the Italian data protection authority after it noted that there were privacy concerns relating to the model, which was created by US start-up OpenAI and is backed by Microsoft.

The move was followed by an order from the local data protection authority that it must stop processing Italians’ data for the ChatGPT service. This prompted the Italian regulator to ban and investigate OpenAI with immediate effect.

Also, the Garante announced it has opened an investigation into ChatGPT over suspected breaches of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), saying it’s concerned OpenAI has unlawfully processed Italians’ data. Garante also flagged worries over a lack of age restrictions on ChatGPT, and how the chatbot can serve factually incorrect information in its responses.

The regulator therefore disclosed that it will issue refunds to all users in Italy who bought the ChatGPT Plus subscription service last month and notes, too, that it is “temporarily pausing” subscription renewals there so that users won’t be charged while the service is suspended.

In a bid to ensure its Chatbot aligns with Italian regulators, OpenAI reinstated its service in the European country with enhanced transparency and rights for European users and non-users.

Investors King understands that OpenAI sent a letter to the Italian SA describing the measures it implemented to comply with the order issued by the SA on 11 April. OpenAI explained that it had expanded the information to European users and non-users, that it had amended and clarified several mechanisms, and deployed amenable solutions to enable users and non-users to exercise their rights.