This is a decision that OpenAI would have done well without a few hours before the end of the year. The American firm has just been fined 15 million euros in Italy. It will also have to launch a communication campaign in the country on different media (newspapers, television, radio, Internet) in order to raise awareness among the general public about the functioning of ChatGPT and remind them of the rights of the GDPR. Let’s take stock.
What OpenAI is accused of
Concretely, it is the Garante per la protection dei personali data, the equivalent of the transalpine CNIL which made this decision. She believes that OpenAI used Internet users’ personal data to train ChatGPT “without having an adequate legal basis and violated the principle of transparency and related information obligations towards users”.
Likewise, the investigation launched at the end of 2023 revealed that Sam Altman’s firm did not provide “adequate age verification system” to prevent users under the age of 13 from being exposed to inappropriate AI-generated content, the authority believes.
OpenAI defends itself
Called into question, OpenAI did not fail to replicate. The company believes that this decision is “disproportionate” and she announces that she will appeal. However, the company says it has worked with the Garante and adds:
They have since recognized our industry-leading approach to AI privacy, but this fine represents almost 20 times the revenue we made in Italy during the relevant period.
As rightly pointed out the Digital Factorythis is not the first time that the company has been in the hot seat in Italy. In fact, ChatGPT was banned for several days in March 2023. La Garante then granted it a period of time to respond to concerns about data protection. Service was eventually restored and the authority noted “steps forward taken to combine technological progress with personal rights”.
What to remember:
- OpenAI fined 15 million euros in Italy
- The company will also have to carry out an awareness campaign in the country
- The authorities believe that it did not sufficiently respect users’ personal data
- The American company judges that this sanction is disproportionate and announces that it will appeal this decision.
