In an interview published on Tuesday, Italy’s data protection watchdog chief Pasquale Stanzione declared that the ChatGPT chatbot could be brought back online at the end of April, provided that its creator, OpenAI, takes “useful steps” to address the agency’s concerns.

Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI had taken ChatGPT offline in Italy in late March after the watchdog temporarily restricted its personal data processing and began a probe into a suspected breach of privacy rules.

However, Stanzione said that the agency is now prepared to reopen ChatGPT on April 30th, provided that OpenAI addresses the watchdog’s concerns.

“We are ready to reopen ChatGPT on April 30th if there is a willingness on the part of OpenAI to take useful steps. I think there is on the part of the company, let’s see,” Stanzione told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Last week, the data protection body led by Stanzione outlined a list of demands which it said OpenAI must meet by April 30th to address its concerns.

Italy was the first Western European country to curb ChatGPT, but its rapid development has attracted attention from lawmakers and regulators in several countries.

On Monday, EU lawmakers urged world leaders to hold a summit to find ways to control the development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT, stating that they were developing faster than expected.

Stanzione justified Italy’s unilateral decision to ban ChatGPT, saying that urgent action was needed.

“Having recourse to a European decision would have entailed a delay of at least three or four months,” he added.

Elon Musk is in fact among those warning about regulating the fast-paced development of AI by multiple tech giants who now throw the “AI” buzzwords on whatever it is they create or update in 2023.