Italian authorities have charged OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, with violating EU data protection laws. The US company has 30 days to respond.
The company that created ChatGPT's artificial intelligence platform, OpenAI, has been "notified of breaches of data protection law," according to a statement released Monday by Italy's data protection watchdog.
The watchdog blocked the popular chatbot last year for a few weeks; it was the first country in the West to do so.
The European Union's general data protection regulation, known as the EU GDPR, was found to have been violated, according to the watchdog's conclusion, which was based on the "available evidence."
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"OpenAI may submit its counterclaims concerning the alleged breaches within 30 days."
The watchdog stated that it would "take account of the work in progress" by a task force established by the EU's central data regulator to assist nations in addressing ChatGPT-related issues when rendering a final decision.
The Italian watchdog declared last year that OpenAI lacked a legitimate reason to collect and store a large amount of personal information to train the algorithms that underpin ChatGPT.
It also brought attention to the ambiguity surrounding whose data was being gathered.
"We believe our practices align with GDPR and other privacy laws, and we take additional steps to protect people's data and privacy," OpenAI said in a statement.
"We want our AI to learn about the world, not about private individuals," OpenAI said, adding that the company plans "to continue to work constructively" with the Italian authority.
