197 VIEWS
Pinterest LinkedIn LINE

This article was originally titled “OpenAI Begins Blocking Access to ChatGPT from Italy,” but because further developments seem likely, I will collect additional updates in this entry. I will therefore update it from time to time with timestamps.

2023-04-03 13:49

OpenAI Begins Blocking Access to ChatGPT from Italy

Following the recent order1, OpenAI appears to have begun blocking access to ChatGPT from Italy before Monday began in Europe2.

Thoughts: Well, of course. The facts are clear, and failure to comply with the order would expose the EU representative to imprisonment for at least 3 months.

Italian Minister Says the Ban on ChatGPT Is Excessive

An Italian minister also appears to have said that the ban on ChatGPT is excessive3.

Thoughts: If the data protection authority changes its position merely because a minister says something, its independence will be questioned, so this is a difficult development for the authority in its own way.

2023-04-03 16:30

“PizzaGPT” Bursts onto the Scene for Italy, Where ChatGPT Is Banned

Following the start of the ChatGPT block, something called PizzaGPT appears to have emerged to bypass it.

It is described as “a wrapper/chat interface for the OpenAI completions API implemented using Nuxt 3, Tailwind, and DaisyUI.”

Thoughts: Unfortunately, this seems to be nothing more than a loophole. It apparently asks for a donation equal to 1 pizza to handle increased traffic. Perhaps that is acceptable because it is merely a temporary bridge until OpenAI implements the instructions, such as putting age verification and an opt-out from data use in the main user flow. It would be interesting if it independently performed age verification and automatically opted users out of data use. Of course, that alone would not solve the problem of Italian data already being included in training data, but it would at least prevent new learning. I suspect that may become the compromise between the Garante4 and OpenAI, though this is only my personal view.

2023-04-05 22:23

Germany and Other EU Countries Consider Blocks Following Italy’s Block of ChatGPT Access

Following Italy, Germany and others also appear to be considering similar orders.

Thoughts: Well, because Italy’s order was based on the GDPR, it would actually be surprising if other EU member states did not issue similar orders.

Footnotes

  1. “Italian Privacy Authority Orders Immediate Restriction of ChatGPT’s Processing of Italian Users’ Information”
  2. Gigazine: OpenAI blocks access to ChatGPT from Italy <https://gigazine.net/news/20230403-openai-geoblocks-chatgpt-italy/>
  3. Reuters: “Italian minister says country’s ban on ChatGPT is excessive” <https://www.reuters.com/technology/italian-minister-says-countrys-ban-chatgpt-is-excessive-2023-04-02/>
  4. Italy’s data protection authority

Related posts