Italy"s data protection agency has provisionally restricted OpenAI"s ChatGPT from using the personal data of Italian users". The agency opened a probe into the AI chatbot over a suspected breach of its data collection rules. It further accused the service of failing to monitor the age of its users as the app is supposed to be for users above the age of 13.
According to ChatGPT"s terms of use, Registration and Access:
You must be at least 13 years old to use the Services. If you are under 18 you must have your parent or legal guardian’s permission to use the Services. If you use the Services on behalf of another person or entity, you must have the authority to accept the Terms on their behalf.
Talking about the issue of personal data collection, the Italian agency alleged:
The absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data in order to "train" the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform.
According to a UBS study, ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users about two months after its launch. The meteoric rise of ChatGPT last year prompted the arrival of a number of similar services like Google Bard and Bing Chat. Although revolutionary, these services also pose a threat to privacy and possible disruptions in various sectors.
Only recently, OpenAI"s chatbot encountered a bug that possibly revealed the personal and partial payment information of its ChatGPT Plus service subscribers. This goes on to show how AI chatbots and similar services, fuelled by our personal data, can be a data privacy nightmare.
Source: Reuters