Microsoft-Backed OpenAI In Hot Water, Faces Privacy Law Violation Charges In Italy

San Francisco-based artificial intelligence firm, OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, now faces scrutiny from Italy’s privacy regulator over its chatbot, ChatGPT.

What Happened: The Italian privacy regulator has concluded that OpenAI’s ChatGPT tool’s data collection methods infringe upon the country’s privacy laws. This conclusion is a result of an investigation initiated in March last year, reported Bloomberg. 

The regulator’s statement highlighted potential violations of EU regulations based on the collected evidence. The startup now has 30 days to respond to the finding.

The regulator’s announcement adds to the ongoing privacy controversy surrounding OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Altman has repeatedly said that OpenAI does not use user data sent via its API to train its AI models. However, not everyone was convinced.

In March 2023, Italy became the first Western nation to ban the chatbot, citing privacy concerns. However, there was a ray of hope in April 2023 when Italy’s data protection agency issued a series of requirements that OpenAI needed to fulfill to resume ChatGPT’s operations in the country. 

By September, the AI chatbot was under investigation in Poland for potential EU General Data Protection Regulation violations too.

See Also: How To Use ChatGPT On Mobile Like A Pro

Why It Matters: Backed by Microsoft Corporation MSFT, OpenAI had a tumultuous couple of months last year. In November 2023, the company's startup fired CEO Altman unceremoniously and reinstated him a few days later following a massive protest from employees. 

Later in December, OpenAI introduced the “Preparedness Framework” under which the board of directors was granted the authority to override decisions made by the current leader, Altman, despite the ongoing decision-making power retained by the company’s leadership team.

Photo via Shutterstock

Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Read Next: The Hidden ChatGPT Trick: Being Nice Can Give Surprisingly Better Results

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.