Garante

Italy's Garante is the country's data protection authority responsible for enforcing GDPR regulations and safeguarding personal data privacy.

Why it’s in the news: It is in the news for fining Character Technologies Inc. €158,000 for GDPR breaches related to inadequate age checks and privacy controls for minors.

Latest on Garante

• Italy's data protection authority fined Character Technologies Inc.—the U.S. company behind Character.AI—€158,000 for GDPR breaches
• Italy's Garante fined Character Technologies Inc., the U.S. owner of Character.AI, €158,000 for GDPR breaches
• Italy required the company to strengthen age checks, prevent blocked minors from re-registering, and default minor profiles to private, with a compliance update due within 120 days
• parents, minors, and privacy-conscious users benefit from stronger age assurance and default privacy controls if the order is implemented effectively
• it adds to a growing EU enforcement pattern around consumer AI and child safety
• Other consumer AI platforms reachable by EU minors are now under stronger pressure to treat Italy's decision as a warning that GDPR obligations will be enforced against generative-AI chat services
• Italy's data protection authority, the Garante, fined Character Technologies Inc.—the U.S.-based owner of Character.AI—€158,000 for GDPR violations
• it underscores rising regulatory pressure on consumer AI platforms handling personal data, especially in Europe

Connections

5 entities linked to Garante across the news graph.