No, it’s not an April Fools’ joke: OpenAI has started geoblocking access to its generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT, in Italy.
The move follows an order by the local data protection authority Friday that it must stop processing Italians’ data for the ChatGPT service.
In a statement which appears online to users with an Italian IP address who try to access ChatGPT, OpenAI writes that it “regrets” to inform users that it has disabled access to users in Italy — at the “request” of the data protection authority — which it known as the Garante.
It also says it will issue refunds to all users in Italy who bought the ChatGPT Plus subscription service last month — and notes too that is “temporarily pausing” subscription renewals there in order that users won’t be charged while the service is suspended.
OpenAI appears to be applying a simple geoblock at this point — which means that usin...
