The Italian government has lifted the ban on the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.
The decision to lift the ban came as a sigh of relief for OpenAI recently, and the AI firm is receiving a series of scrutiny in the global market.
The ban was lifted via a statement by the Italian data protection agency Garante which confirmed that OpenAl had expanded its information security to include both users and non-users in Europe, that they have clarified and changed several procedures, and that they have implemented workable solutions to make it possible for both users and non-users to exercise their Freedom rights.
Garante banned the Microsoft-backed chatbot in late March because the agency suspected the company of breaching European Union data protection laws over data privacy and age regulations on the platform. Other claims were that ChatGPT was gathering and retaining user data without their knowledge which prompted Italy to enforce the ban.
This allegation caused the agency to investigate if the platform was also breaching the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). After a series of investigations, Garante found Open AI not guilty; hence, the agency released a series of protective measures that the AI company must implement to prevent future data breaches. The organization required OpenAI to enforce age restrictions, explain how data is handled, offer choices for data management, and allow users to refuse the use of their data.
Chat GPT’s parent company, Open AI, worked hand in hand with Garante. It took in all the required regulations and provided the measures to ensure users’ confidentiality and transparency.
Open AI proved that it had taken several preventive measures to protect users’ data, including providing greater visibility of its privacy policy, allowing users to now clear their chat history, and using stricter content moderation tools. The company also announced a new tool that will verify the age of users once they log in. The measures introduced won the confidence and trust of the data protection agency. Hence, Garante decided to lift the month-long ban.
Open AI was able to prove itself worthy to its Italian users. Since the ban in Italy has been lifted, will other countries that banned the AI chatbot raise theirs?
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Image from Emiliano Vittoriosi
