Italy is temporarily blocking the in the wake of a data breach as it investigates a possible violation of stringent European Union data protection rules, the government害羞草研究所檚 privacy watchdog said Friday.

The Italian Data Protection Authority said it was taking provisional action 害羞草研究所渦ntil ChatGPT respects privacy,害羞草研究所� including temporarily limiting the company from processing Italian users害羞草研究所� data.

U.S.-based OpenAI, which developed ChatGPT, didn害羞草研究所檛 immediately return a request for comment Friday.

While some public schools and universities around the world have over student plagiarism concerns, it害羞草研究所檚 not clear how Italy would block it at a nationwide level.

The move also is unlikely to affect applications from companies that already have licenses with OpenAI to use the same technology driving the chatbot, such as .

The AI systems that power such chatbots, known as large language models, are able to based on the huge trove of digital books and online writings they have ingested.

The Italian watchdog said OpenAI must report within 20 days what measures it has taken to or face a fine of up to either 20 million euros (nearly $22 million) or 4% of annual global revenue.

The agency害羞草研究所檚 statement cites the EU害羞草研究所檚 General Data Protection Regulation and noted that ChatGPT suffered a data breach on March 20 involving 害羞草研究所渦sers害羞草研究所� conversations害羞草研究所� and information about subscriber payments.

OpenAI earlier announced that it had to take ChatGPT offline on March 20 to fix a bug that allowed some people to see the titles, or subject lines, of other users害羞草研究所� chat history.

害羞草研究所淥ur investigation has also found that 1.2% of ChatGPT Plus users might have had personal data revealed to another user,害羞草研究所� the company said. 害羞草研究所淲e believe the number of users whose data was actually revealed to someone else is extremely low and we have contacted those who might be impacted.害羞草研究所�

Italy害羞草研究所檚 privacy watchdog lamented the lack of a legal basis to justify OpenAI害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所渕assive collection and processing of personal data害羞草研究所� used to train the platform害羞草研究所檚 algorithms and that the company does not notify users whose data it collects.

The agency also said ChatGPT can sometimes generate 害羞草研究所� and store 害羞草研究所� false information about individuals.

Finally, it noted there害羞草研究所檚 no system to verify users害羞草研究所� ages, exposing children to responses 害羞草研究所渁bsolutely inappropriate to their age and awareness.害羞草研究所�

The watchdog害羞草研究所檚 move comes as concerns grow about the artificial intelligence boom. A group of scientists and tech industry leaders published a letter Wednesday calling for companies such as OpenAI to until the fall to give time for society to weigh the risks.

害羞草研究所淲hile it is not clear how enforceable these decisions will be, the very fact that there seems to be a mismatch between the technological reality on the ground and the legal frameworks of Europe害羞草研究所� shows there may be something to the letter害羞草研究所檚 call for a pause 害羞草研究所渢o allow for our cultural tools to catch up,害羞草研究所� said Nello Cristianini, an AI professor at the University of Bath.

San Francisco-based OpenAI害羞草研究所檚 CEO, Sam Altman, announced this week that he害羞草研究所檚 embarking on a six-continent trip in May to talk about the technology with users and developers. That includes a stop planned for Brussels, where European Union lawmakers have been negotiating sweeping new rules to limit high-risk AI tools, as well as visits to Madrid, Munich, London and Paris.

European consumer group BEUC called Thursday for EU authorities and the bloc害羞草研究所檚 27 member nations to investigate ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots. BEUC said it could be years before the EU害羞草研究所檚 AI legislation takes effect, so authorities need to act faster to protect consumers from possible risks.

害羞草研究所淚n only a few months, we have seen a massive take-up of ChatGPT, and this is only the beginning,害羞草研究所� Deputy Director General Ursula Pachl said.

Waiting for the EU害羞草研究所檚 AI Act 害羞草研究所渋s not good enough as there are serious concerns growing about how ChatGPT and similar chatbots might deceive and manipulate people.害羞草研究所�

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