Italy has led the way: now more European governments are considering banning ChatGPT

Spring is not doing well for ChatGPT. OpenAI’s popular Artificial Intelligence (AI) —and popular is an understatement, given its huge flow of monthly users— has already had to deal with two “toads” in a matter of weeks: the first was the letter in which a Thousands of references from the technological world admit their concern about GPT-4 and ask for a deep reflection before continuing with more advanced AIs; the second, the decision of the Italian authorities to block the tool amid misgivings about its use of the data.

Of the two news items, the first has been the one that has grabbed the most headlines. It is the Italian decision however that threatens a major hangover for OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT. The reason? Other countries appear to have taken note.

What has Italy done? Press the “pause” button of ChatGPT. Guarantor, the Italian body in charge of data protection, decided a few days ago to block AI in the country after detecting two peculiarities: illegal data collection and the lack of a system to verify the age of minors.

Although it was adopted “immediately”, the regulatory body clarifies that the measure – which restricts the processing of Italian user data by OpenAI – is temporary and has given the company 20 days to demonstrate its compliance with the law . At the moment an investigation has already been opened.

And what is the reason? In developing its argument, the Italian organization regrets the lack of information and focuses on the collection of personal data. “No information is provided to the users or data subjects whose data OpenAI collects. More importantly, there does not seem to be any legal basis justifying the massive collection and processing of personal data to ‘train’ the algorithms on which the platform”, concludes.

The Italian agency also insists that —although the OpenAI service is supposedly aimed at people over 13 years of age— there is no age verification mechanism for users. “It exposes children to receiving responses that are absolutely inappropriate for their age and knowledge,” remark.

And the rest of the countries? Italy’s decision is being followed closely by other countries, which have also witnessed the deployment of chatbots and the OpenAI engine. As minimum –explains to Reuters lawyer Dessislava Savova – has shown that the GDPR it can offer “tools for regulators to get involved in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.” Not only that.

Reuters says that French and Irish regulators have already contacted their Italian counterparts to get more information about the move they just took there. This same week the French minister for the Digital Transition, Jean Noël-Barrot, it was shown however against banning ChatGPT.

Are they the only cases? Recently the newspaper handelsblatt published that Germany could follow in Italy’s footsteps in ensuring data protection. “In principle, such an action is also possible in Germany,” says a spokesman for the Federal Data Protection Commissioner, Ulrich Kelber. “We are following up with the Italian regulator,” abound in ireland.

In Spain, the Data Protection Agency (AEPD) explained a few days ago that at the moment it has not received any complaint about ChatGPT, although it does clarify: “The Agency closely follows these technological developments, which may have a significant impact on the rights of people”. Precisely for this reason, they point out, “future research cannot be ruled out”.

What about Open AI? What does it say? The US-based company has published an article on its blog in which, among other issues, it addresses the use of data and user privacy: “Although some of our training data includes personal information available on the Internet , we want our models to learn about the world, not about individuals. We strive to remove personal information from the training data set whenever possible,” stress the signaturethat answer to to Italy.

His is not the only voice that has been heard in recent days. Ursula Pachi, deputy director of the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) recently claimed in an interview with euronews that the step taken in Italy should be “a kind of wake-up call for the European Union”. “Although the European institutions have been working on the AI ​​Law, it will not be applicable for another four years. And we see how quickly they develop.”

Cover image: Levart_Photographer (Unsplash)

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