Italy Launches Investigation Into OpenAI's New AI Tool, Sora

Sunday - March 10 2024, 06:21 UTC - 1 year ago

Italy's data protection watchdog is investigating OpenAI's new AI tool, Sora, over concerns of potential implications on personal data processing within the EU. The tool, still in testing, can generate realistic videos via user prompts. The authority wants clarification on data being collected, compliance with EU data protection rules, and if it will include sensitive categories. This follows the previous block of OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT for not abiding by regulations and age verification system.

Italy's data protection watchdog has launched an investigation into Sora, the latest artificial intelligence tool created by US firm OpenAI. Concerns have been raised about the potential implications for personal data processing within the European Union, particularly in Italy. Sora, which was unveiled in February and is currently in a testing phase, has the capability to generate realistic videos of up to a minute long based on simple user prompts .

However, the Italian Data Protection Authority is seeking clarification from OpenAI on a number of issues. These include what data is being collected and used to train the tool, whether any personal data is involved and if so, if it includes sensitive categories such as religious or philosophical beliefs, political opinions, health, or sexual life. The authority also wants to ensure that Sora will comply with European data protection rules if and when it is released in the EU .

This investigation follows the temporary block of OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT in March last year, as it was found to not be in compliance with European regulations and lacking a system to verify users' ages.