Italy has temporarily banned artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT over concerns about data privacy.

In a statement Friday, the Guarantor for the Protection of Personal Data (GPDP), which oversees data privacy online, banned the U.S.-based chat website and its parent company, artificial intelligence developer OpenAI, from processing data from users in Italy. The agency said that OpenAI has no legal basis to collect data from Italian users to train the model, and has no age verification system to protect children against inappropriate answers.

“[There is] no way for ChatGPT to continue processing data in breach of privacy laws,” the agency said in a press release Friday. “The Italian [Supervisory Authority] imposed an immediate temporary limitation on the processing of Italian users’ data by OpenAI, the US-based company developing and managing the platform. An inquiry into the facts of the case was initiated as well.”

Much of the agency’s concern stemmed from the amount of information the app collects to train its language models. “[N]o information is provided to users, nor to interested parties whose data was collected by OpenAI, LLC and processed through the ChatGPT service,” the GPDP order stated. The order also noted that the data processed by ChatGPT can be inaccurate, since the AI does not always match factual circumstances.

Furthermore, the order states that there is an “absence of a suitable legal basis in relation to the collection of personal data and their treatment for the purpose of training the algorithms underlying the functioning of ChatGPT.” The agency also cited a data breach that occurred on March 20, revealing both conversations and payment information of some who use the more sophisticated, paid-for version of ChatGPT.

The other issue highlighted by the Italian government was worries about age verification. OpenAI’s terms of service say that the service is for users over the age of 13, but Italy said the lack of age verification filters for minors “exposes them to absolutely unsuitable responses with respect to their degree of development and self-awareness.”  The agency said that because of the lack of age verification and the complex violations of Italian law, it had no choice but to impose a blanket ban on harvesting data from all users.

The ban went into effect immediately. OpenAI must notify the GPDP of what measures it is taking to comply with the order within 20 days, otherwise, the country will impose a fine of up to 20 million euros or 4% of the company’s global revenue.

The move from the Italian government comes just days after a Belgian man reportedly committed suicide after interacting with a different chatbot. According to Euronews, a man in his 30s, with a wife and two young children, committed suicide after interacting for several weeks with ELIZA, another chatbot powered by a different language model.

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According to the man’s wife, who spoke with several European news outlets, the man became fixated on climate change and spent his days confiding his fears in ELIZA. The chatbot allegedly stoked the man’s fears until he developed suicidal ideation; the man reportedly suggested that he sacrifice himself so that ELIZA could save humanity through AI, his widow said.

Finland is expected to officially join NATO in the coming days as tensions between Europe and Russia remain high over the war in Ukraine. 

Finland’s entrance into the intergovernmental military organization comes after Turkey became the final NATO member to approve the Nordic country’s application for membership, which was first filed in May 2022. 

“Finland will formally join our Alliance in the coming days. Their membership will make Finland safer and NATO stronger. I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as a full member of the NATO family as soon as possible,” said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general. 

The move, which was opposed by Russia, comes as Sweden is also attempting to join the alliance, which has vigorously opposed Russia during its war with Ukraine. 

“NATO membership will strengthen Finland’s security and improve stability and security in the Baltic Sea region and Northern Europe,” Finland’s government said after Turkey approved their membership. 

Turkey had voiced objections to Finland’s support for certain Kurdish groups which it opposes. Those concerns were apparently rectified before Turkey voted to accept Finland. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been supportive of allowing both Finland and Sweden into the organization. “Both countries have taken significant, concrete actions to fulfill their commitments, including those related to the security concerns on the part of our ally, Turkey,” he said in December. “As their membership process continues, the United States is fully committed to Finland and Sweden’s accession.”

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin first announced their intent to join NATO nearly a year ago at a joint news conference in Helsinki. The long-neutral nation shares an 830-mile-long border with Russia, which has spooked neighboring nations with its attack on Ukraine.

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NATO was founded in 1949 to counter the threat from the Soviet Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin has complained that it is encroaching on his country and blamed Ukraine’s desire to join as one of the reasons for the ongoing invasion. The last country to join was North Macedonia in 2020. 

According to NATO stipulations, an attack on one is an attack on all, meaning that all member countries are obligated to get involved when one is attacked. 

Stoltenberg recently said that he believes that NATO members need to increase military production of weapons and ammunition to sustain “support for Ukraine.”