OpenAI's ChatGPT Banned in Italy Over Data Privacy Concerns

On March 31, 2023, the Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali) announced that it is temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT as a result of rising concerns over a data breach reported on March 20, 2023, in violation of the European Union data protection rules.

Since its public release four months ago, ChatGPT has exploded globally for its ability to produce written content, including, academic essays, exams, business plans, short stories songs, and news articles. There have been public schools and universities around the world that have blocked ChatGPT from their networks over student plagiarism concerns. 

Italy’s Data Protection Authority said users lacked information about the collection and processing of their data. The Italian regulator also expressed concerns over the lack of age verification mechanisms for ChatGPT users "exposes children to receiving responses that are absolutely inappropriate to their age and awareness, even though the service is allegedly addressed to users aged above 13 according to OpenAI’s terms of service."

The data protection agency said OpenAI would be barred from processing the data of Italian users until it “respects the privacy regulation.” OpenAI has been given 20 days to communicate the measures it will take to comply with Italy’s data rules. Otherwise, it could face a penalty of up to €20 million ($21.8 million) or up to 4% of its annual global turnover.