"ChatGPT banned in Italy over privacy concerns", 1 April 2023

The Italian data-protection authority said there were privacy concerns relating to the model, which was created by US start-up OpenAI and is backed by Microsoft.

The regulator said it would ban and investigate OpenAI "with immediate effect".

OpenAI told the BBC it complied with privacy laws.

Millions of people have used ChatGPT since it launched in November 2022.

It can answer questions using natural, human-like language and it can also mimic other writing styles, using the internet as it was in 2021 as its database.

Microsoft has spent billions of dollars on it and it was added to Bing last month.

It has also said that it will embed a version of the technology in its Office apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

There have been concerns over the potential risks of artificial intelligence (AI), including its threat to jobs and the spreading of misinformation and bias...

The Italian watchdog said that not only would it block OpenAI's chatbot but it would also investigate whether it complied with General Data Protection Regulation...

OpenAI told the BBC that it had disabled ChatGPT for users in Italy at the request of the Italian data protection regulator, called the Garante:

"We are committed to protecting people's privacy and we believe we comply with GDPR and other privacy laws", it wrote.

The organisation said it worked to reduce personal data in training AI systems like ChatGPT because it wanted its AI systems to "learn about the world, not about private individuals".

"We also believe that AI regulation is necessary — so we look forward to working closely with the Garante and educating them on how our systems are built and used", it added

OpenAI said it looked forward to making ChatGPT available in Italy again "soon".