Italy’s data protection authority, the GPDP, announced on Friday that it had fined OpenAI 15 million euros (approximately $15.6 million) for violations related to the use of personal data by ChatGPT, concluding a nearly two-year investigation.
The GPDP had temporarily banned ChatGPT in Italy in March 2023 due to privacy concerns, making it the first Western country to take action against the popular AI chatbot.
The watchdog stated that the fine was calculated taking into account OpenAI’s cooperative stance during the investigation. However, it noted that OpenAI had failed to notify the authority about a data breach in March 2023, processed users’ personal data to train ChatGPT without a proper legal basis, and violated transparency principles and user information obligations.
Additionally, the authority criticized OpenAI for not implementing age verification mechanisms, which could expose children under 13 to inappropriate content.
Along with the fine, the GPDP has instructed OpenAI to launch a six-month public awareness campaign across broadcast, print, and online platforms to help increase public understanding of ChatGPT and its data practices.
