Italy privacy watchdog fines Character.AI owner over age-check failures

ROME, July 9 (Reuters) - Italy's data protection authority fined Character Technologies, the U.S.-based owner of generative AI platform Character.AI, €158,000 ($180,500) for breaches of data protection rules, it said on Thursday in a statement. 

The service allows users, including minors, to chat with AI-generated virtual characters.

• The regulator found several privacy violations, including shortcomings in information provided to users about the processing of their personal data.

• The authority also raised concerns about safeguards for minors and the effectiveness of age-verification procedures, saying further protections were needed beyond those already in place.

• Character Technologies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• The authority, known as Garante, also said the company was late in conducting a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and appointing an EU representative.

• The Garante has been one of the most proactive regulators in Europe on AI. In 2023, it briefly banned the use of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot over age-check and data collection issues.

($1 = 0.8754 euros)

(Writing by Francesca Piscioneri, editing by Alvise Armellini)