Italy’s Immediate Temporary Limitation On ChatGPT

April 2023

On 31 March 2023, Italian Data Protection Agency imposed an immediate temporary limitation on ChatGPT and also declared that an investigation regarding the facts of the case was launched as well. The main reasons behind the limitation are declared as unlawful data collection and not having age verification system for children. Besides, it was also stated in the order that no information is provided to users and data subjects whose data are collected by OpenAI, which is the US-based company developing and managing the platform. It was highlighted by the Agency that there appears to be no legal basis underpinning the massive collection and processing of personal data in order to train the algorithms on which the platform relies.

Moreover, The Agency indicated that although this service is addressed to users aged above 13 according to OpenAI’s terms of service, there is no age verification mechanism, and this results in children to receiving responses that are inappropriate to their age and awareness.

Finally, it was declared that OpenAI, which is not established in the EU but has designated a representative in the European Economic Area, will have to notify the Italian Data Protection Agency of the measures implemented to comply with the order within 20 days, otherwise a fine of up to EUR 20 million or 4% of the total worldwide annual turnover may be imposed.