Italy has taken a forceful action by blocking the use of ChatGpt due to its alleged lack of respect for the personal data protection law. The Italian Guarantor has indicated that OpenAI has not provided adequate information to users and does not have a legal basis justifying the massive collection of personal data. In addition, the authority has stated that the information provided by ChatGpt is not always accurate, resulting in inaccurate use of personal data.
Although the real reasons may be various, the truth is that ChatGPT is blocked, and if we use a VPN to simulate access from Italy, this is what appears:
Message appearing in Italy
If you access ChatGPT from Italy, the following message appears:
ChatGPT disabled for users in Italy
Dear ChatGPT customer,
We regret to inform you that we have disabled ChatGPT for users in Italy at the request of Italian Guarantor.
We are issuing refunds to all users in Italy who purchased a ChatGPT Plus subscription in March. We are also temporarily pausing subscription renewals in Italy so that users are not charged while ChatGPT is suspended.
We are committed to protecting people’s privacy and believe that we offer ChatGPT in compliance with GDPR and other privacy laws. We will contact Guarantor in order to restore your access as soon as possible.
Many of you have told us that you find ChatGPT useful for everyday tasks and we hope it will be available again soon.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding ChatGPT or the refund process, we have put together a list of Frequently Asked Questions to address them.
The list of questions and answers can be summarized as follows:
Why can’t I access my ChatGPT account?
In response to a request from the Italian Guarantor, we have disabled ChatGPT for users in Italy. We are issuing refunds to all Italian users who purchased a ChatGPT Plus subscription in March. We are also temporarily stopping subscription renewals in Italy so that users are not charged while ChatGPT is suspended.
How long will the accounts in Italy be blocked?
ChatGPT accounts will be disabled in Italy while we work to reach a resolution with the Guarantor. Our goal is to restore access as soon as possible.
Will I receive a refund if I am a ChatGPT Plus customer?
Customers who have purchased ChatGPT Plus subscriptions will receive a full refund of their last payment. We are pausing subscription renewals until we can resume operations in Italy.
When will I receive my refund?
Please allow 5-7 business days for the refund to post to your account, depending on the policies of the issuing bank.
How do I delete my account and my data?
You can delete your account by emailing us at [email protected].
What are we doing to make ChatGPT available again in Italy?
We will contact the Guarantor with the aim of restoring access as soon as possible.
