Italy’s data protection authority said Friday it had fined OpenAI 15 million euros over the use of personal data by ChatGPT, closing a nearly two-year investigation.

The Italian Data Protection Authority (GPDP) watchdog had temporarily blocked ChatGPT in Italy in March 2023 over privacy concerns, becoming the first Western country to take action against the popular AI chatbot.

“The Data Protection Authority imposed a fine of 15 million euros ($15.6 million) on OpenAI, which was also calculated taking into account the company’s cooperative attitude,” it said Friday.

The body said that OpenAI “did not notify the authority of the data breach it underwent in March 2023, it has processed users’ personal data to train ChatGPT without first identifying an appropriate legal basis and has violated the principle of transparency and the related information obligations toward users.”

In addition, OpenAI “has not provided for mechanisms for age verification, which could lead to the risk of exposing children under 13 to inappropriate responses”, it added.

As well as the fine, the authority said it had ordered OpenAI to carry out a six-month broadcast, print and Internet campaign to promote public understanding of ChatGPT.

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