--- title: "Mama Mia! Italy Has Banned ChatGPT!" description: "Vogue AI-talia The anti-artificial intelligence push continues apace in Italy, which just moved to temporarily ban OpenAI's ChatGPT pending a data privacy investigation. The Italian Data Protection Authority announced in a press release today that it has blocked ChatGPT and opened an investigation into OpenAI over concerns about the way the company processes user data […]" date: "2023-03-31" modified: "2023-03-31" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/italy-bans-chatgpt" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "chatgpt" - "data privacy" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # Mama Mia! Italy Has Banned ChatGPT! ![The anti-artificial intelligence push continues apace in Italy, which just moved to temporarily ban OpenAI's ChatGPT pending a data privacy investigation. ]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Vogue AI-talia The anti-artificial intelligence push continues in Italy, which just moved to temporarily ban OpenAI's ChatGPT pending a data privacy investigation. The Italian Data Protection Authority [announced in a press release today]() that it has blocked ChatGPT and opened an investigation into OpenAI over concerns about the way the company processes user data after a data breach in March led to the leak of [users' chatlogs]() and [credit card information](). "In its order, the \[agency\] highlights that no information is provided to users and data subjects whose data are collected by OpenAI," the English version of the press release reads. "More importantly, there appears to be no legal basis underpinning the massive collection and processing of personal data in order to ‘train’ the algorithms on which the platform relies." Along with the data breach, the agency also cited OpenAI's apparent failure to comply with the [General Data Protection Regulation]() (GDPR), the landmark European Union privacy law that greatly restricts companies' ability to collect data on EU residents, as one of its reasons for the ban. ## Replikator As *Futurism* readers may recall, this is the second time in recent months that Italian data privacy regulators have put the kibosh on an AI service. In early February, the same agency [banned the AI chatbot "companion" app Replika]() over what it said were similarly shady data collection practices. Soon after, [Replika stopped offering sexual chats]() (which, to be fair, had [their own issues]()), though those [ended up coming back online]() last weekend. It doesn't, however, appear that Italy has un-blocked the app yet. Like with its Replika ban, the GDPR also cited concerns over children [being exposed to inappropriate material]() on ChatGPT as another of its reasons for instituting its ban and opening an investigation. **More on AI issues:** [*GPT-4 Was Deeply Racist Before OpenAI Muzzled It*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()