Italian authorities announced on Friday that they had decided to block chatbot ChatGPT, accused of failing to comply with laws on personal data and not having a system to verify the age of underage users, Reuters and Agerpres reported.

The decision “with immediate effect” will lead to a “temporary restriction of the processing of Italian users’ data by OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT”, the National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data announced in a press release. in Italy.

ChatGPT was launched in November 2022 and was quickly “adopted” by users impressed by its ability to provide clear answers to complex questions, compose sonnets or songs, and even ace exams.

In addition, ChatGPT can be used to write computer codes without having the necessary technical knowledge.

The Italian authorities reprimand the creators of ChatGPT

In the same statement, Italian authorities indicated that on March 20, ChatGPT “suffered a data breach (data leak) regarding user conversations and information related to payments made by subscribers to its paid service.”

Italian authorities also criticize the ChatGPT software for “the lack of an information note for users whose data is collected by OpenAI, but above all, the lack of a legal basis to justify the bulk collection and storage of personal data in order to ‘train’ the algorithms that make the platform work.”

In addition, in the context in which this talking robot is addressed to people over 13 years old, “The Administration emphasizes the fact that the absence of any filter to verify the age of the user exposes minors to answers that are completely inappropriate for their level of development.”

Italy demands measures not to fine OpenAI

The Italian authorities asked OpenAI “within 20 days to report on the measures taken” to remedy the situation “under threat of a fine of up to 20 million euros or up to 4% of the annual turnover obtained at the global level.”

Friday’s announcement comes after Europol warned on Monday that criminals are ready to use artificial intelligence, such as the ChatGPT chatbot, to commit fraud and other cybercrimes.

From phishing to disinformation and malware, the rapidly evolving capabilities of chatbots can be quickly exploited by attackers, Europol assesses in a report.

On Wednesday, Elon Musk and hundreds of experts around the world issued a public call for a six-month suspension of research into artificial intelligence more powerful than ChatGPT 4, the OpenAI model released in mid-March, citing “huge risks to humanity.”