Italy bans US-based AI chatbot Replika from using personal data

Italy’s Data Protection Agency mentioned on Friday it was prohibiting synthetic intelligence (AI) chatbot firm Replika from utilizing the non-public knowledge of Italian customers, citing dangers to minors and emotionally fragile individuals.

Replika, a San Francisco startup launched in 2017, affords clients bespoke avatars that speak and hearken to them.

It has led the best way amongst English audio system, and is free to make use of, although it brings in round $2 million in month-to-month income from promoting bonus options equivalent to voice chats.

The ‘digital good friend’ is marketed as having the ability to enhance the emotional well-being of the consumer.

But the Italian watchdog mentioned that by intervening within the consumer’s temper, it “may increase the risks for individuals still in a developmental stage or in a state of emotional fragility”.

The company additionally pointed to the absence of an age-verification mechanism, equivalent to filters for minors or a blocking gadget if customers don’t explicitly state their age.

Replika breaches European Privacy Regulations and processes private knowledge unlawfully because it can’t be based mostly, even implicitly, on a contract {that a} minor is unable to signal, the watchdog mentioned. Replika’s developer, the U.S. firm Luka Inc., should notify the Italian authority of measures taken to implement its necessities in 20 days and may very well be fined as much as 20 million euros ($21.80 million), or as much as 4% of its international annual turnover, the assertion mentioned.

Replika didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters e mail looking for remark.

($1 = 0.9176 euros) (Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Writing by Gianluca Semeraro; enhancing by Gavin Jones and Arun Koyyur)

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