OpenAI's ChatGPT is being accused of violating Italy's data privacy laws and EU regulations.
The Garante, one of EU's biggest watchdogs on data privacy, said the AI firm's chatbot has elements that potentially breach the bloc's data privacy regulations.
The watchdog did not provide any information on the possible violations ChatGPT has incurred but said it will continue its investigations.
OpenAI is required to submit a response within 30 days or risk a fine of up to 4% of its annual income. OpenAI has yet to comment regarding the new accusations.
The announcement came nearly a year after the Garante first said that it was probing into ChatGPT's development for potential data privacy violations.
ChatGPT Accused of Ignoring Excessive Data Collection, Negligence
This was not the first time OpenAI clashed with EU regulators, particularly the Garante, over privacy concerns on the platform.
Last year, the watchdog claimed that the chatbot failed to provide "any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data" in training its AI models.
The Garante also accused the company of failing to verify whether its users are indeed 13 years old or older.
In response, OpenAI temporarily turned ChatGPT offline in Italy as it requested a meeting with the Garante.
OpenAI Faces Scrutiny Over AI Development, Training
Following a successful year of companies jumping into the AI craze, OpenAI and other leading tech firms are now under more attention as lawmakers push clearer regulations on AI.
Just last week, the US Congress started cracking down on the secretive development of new AI projects in the country, including breakthroughs in OpenAI's "open source" models.
The US government will also soon start requiring tech firms to disclose information if foreign nations use the technology via cloud services.
Many of the AI firms, like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, also host their own online cloud servers where the AI also runs.
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