OpenAI’s ChatGPT Chatbot Reactivated in Italy After Privacy Concerns Addressed

The ChatGPT chatbot was reactivated in Italy after its maker OpenAI addressed issues raised by Italy’s data protection authority, the agency and the company confirmed on Friday.

Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy last month after the country’s data protection authority, also known as Garante, temporarily banned the chatbot and launched a probe over the artificial intelligence application’s suspected breach of privacy rules.

Garante had given a deadline till Sunday to OpenAI to address its concerns for allowing the chatbot to start operating again in the country.

Last month, Garante said ChatGPT has an ”absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data” to ”train” the chatbot.

Garante had also accused OpenAI of failing to check the age of ChatGPT’s users who are supposed to be aged 13 or above, OpenAI said it will offer a tool to verify users’ ages in Italy upon sign-up.