ChatGPT news: Italy privacy watchdog fines OpenAI [Video]

ROME, Italy –

Italy’s data protection watchdog said Friday it has fined OpenAI 15 million euros (US$15.6 million) after wrapping up a probe into the collection of personal data by the U.S. artificial intelligence company’s popular chatbot ChatGPT.

The country’s privacy watchdog, known as Garante, said its investigation showed that OpenAI processed users’ personal data to train ChatGPT “without having an adequate legal basis and violated the principle of transparency and the related information obligations towards users”.

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OpenAI dubbed the decision “disproportionate” and said it will appeal.

“When the Garante ordered us to stop offering ChatGPT in Italy in 2023, we worked with them to reinstate it a month later,” an OpenAI spokesperson said Friday in an emailed statement. “They’ve since recognized our industry-leading approach to protecting privacy in AI, yet this fine is nearly 20 times …