“One or more offenses”: the Privacy Guarantor’s strike against ChatGPT

The Guarantor for the protection of personal data, also known simply as Privacy guarantorhas notified OpenAI of a deed for violations of the legislation on the processing of personal data. The notification came at the …

"One or more offenses": the Privacy Guarantor's strike against ChatGPT

The Guarantor for the protection of personal data, also known simply as Privacy guarantorhas notified OpenAI of a deed for violations of the legislation on the processing of personal data. The notification came at the end of an investigation that began last year March 30th, during which the Authority had subjected the company led by Sam Altman and parent of ChatGPT to a provision imposing a temporary limitation on data processing. At this point it is OpenAI’s turn to express itself. Here’s what you need to know.

Because the Guarantor has notified OpenAI of an act for violations of the law

The Privacy Guarantor expressed his reasons through a note shared on his website. Inside it we read that “the Authority considered that the elements acquired could constitute one or more offences compared to what is established by the EU Regulation.” This implies that the Guarantor was not satisfied with the measures implemented by the American company. But what can the latter do now to defend itself? The note also states that OpenAI “will have 30 days to communicate their defense briefs regarding the alleged violations complained of.

Furthermore, in the conclusion, the Authority points out that “in defining the procedure, the Guarantor will take into account the work underway within the special task force, established by the Board which brings together the EU data protection authorities (EDPB).

It is not the first time that OpenAI has clashed with the Privacy Guarantor over issues related to the protection of personal data. Last year, in fact, the company had temporarily blocked ChatGPT in Italy because the Authority had complained – among other things – about the lack of information addressed to users regarding the processing of personal data. Then, after about a month of stalemate due to negotiations, ChatGPT was available again. It is currently not possible to know what will happen in the next phase of this controversy, the only thing to do is wait for the response from OpenAI, which it certainly won’t be long in coming.