Italy to allow ChatGPT to return if OpenAI takes 'useful steps'


FILE PHOTO: ChatGPT logo is seen in this illustration taken, February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) -Italy's data protection watchdog is ready to allow the return of the ChatGPT chatbot at the end of April if its maker OpenAI takes "useful steps" to address the agency's concerns, the authority's chief Pasquale Stanzione said in an interview published on Tuesday.

Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy in late March after the watchdog temporarily restricted its personal data processing and began a probe into a suspected breach of privacy rules.

"We are ready to reopen ChatGPT on April 30 if there is a willingness on the part of OpenAI to take useful steps. I think there is on the part of the company, let's see," Stanzione told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

The data protection body led by Stanzione last week set out a list of demands which it said OpenAI must meet by April 30 to address its concerns.

Italy was the first western European country to curb ChatGPT, but its rapid development has attracted attention from lawmakers and regulators in several countries.

EU lawmakers urged world leaders on Monday to hold a summit to find ways to control the development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT, saying they were developing faster than expected.

Stanzione said Italy acted unilaterally to ban ChatGPT because urgent action was needed.

"Having recourse to a European decision would have entailed a delay of at least three or four months," he added.

(Writing by Francesca Piscioneri and Keith Weir, editing by Alvise Armellini and Susan Fenton)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

   

Next In Tech News

Tax fraud investigators search Netflix offices in Paris and Amsterdam, says source
Singapore's Keppel to buy Japanese AI data centre amid AI boom
Tesla increases wages for staff at German gigafactory by 4%
Apple explores push into smart glasses with ‘Atlas’ user study
Japan's Kioxia sees flash memory demand almost tripling by 2028
Hacker gets into woman’s email, changes every password, tries to make purchases
Foxconn says Oct revenue +8.59% y/y, Q4 outlook good
Want to help a friend find love? Give a PowerPoint presentation
Can an Apple�Watch get AFib patients off bloodthinners?
South Korea fines Meta about $15 million over collection of user data

Others Also Read