ChatGPT Adds Privacy Controls and Disclosures to its System, Resuming Its Services in Italy
Syed Imran Haider 
OpenAI has reportedly rolled out new privacy controls for its ChatGPT – generative AI chatbot services and made it available to users in Italy. As of writing, online users accessing ChatGPT from Italian IP addresses do not receive a greeting notification informing them that the service is no longer available in Italy. Now, they get a note revealing OpenAI feels pleased to resume its ChatGPT services in the country.
The pop-up message further asks users to confirm whether they are 13 or 18. They must agree to meet ChatGPT’s age requirements and submit consent from their parent or guardian to use ChatGPT services. The notification also draws users’ attention to the company’s Privacy Policy.
The modifications in OpenAI ChatGPT aim to satisfy a set of conditions by the DPA for it to resume service with managed regulatory risk. You can click on the given links in the notification’s text to divert to a help center article saying that OpenAI offers information about how it develops and trains AI-powered ChatGPT.
The Backstory
The Garante of Italy temporarily stopped the processing order on OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late April. It showed concerns about the alleged breach of EU data protection rules set by the services. It also began an inquiry into the assumed violations of the GDPR. On the other hand, OpenAI quickly geo-blocked users accessing the service with Italian IP from the beginning of April to respond to the intervention.
The Garante of Italy followed the move and issued some measures, saying OpenAI must execute these measures to get the suspension order canceled by the end of April. These measures also demanded the company add age-gating tools to prevent underage users from using the services and alter the legal base required to process local users’ data.
The intervention caused the Italian regulator to face political flak in the country and other European areas. The bloc’s regulators decided to launch a task force focusing on ChatGPT to support investigations on the enforcement.
The resumption of ChatGPT Services in Italy
The press release issued by the Garante on April 27 announced the resumption in Italy. According to the Garante, it received a letter from OpenAI explaining the measures the company implemented in responding to the previous order.
The owner of ChatGPT had expanded the data to users and non-users in Europe. The company amended and explained many mechanisms besides deploying amenable solutions to let users and non-users utilize their rights. OpenAI resumed its ChatGPT service for Italian users according to these improvements.
Europe-based users who want to withdraw from processing their data to train its AI can do it using a form made available by OpenAI. According to DPA, this form filters out users’ conversations and chat history from the data required to train algorithms.
The Garante says OpenAI will enable Europeans to train Artificial Intelligence and offer them new mechanisms to get their data deleted. It cannot mend the flaws of AI-powered chatbots, creating misinformation about named people by this point. Accordingly, Garante introduced mechanisms to allow data subjects to get erasure of information considered inaccurate.
