Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sues OpenAI over safety of ChatGPT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said Wednesday that he had filed suit against OpenAI over its ChatGPT product.
Griffin said the suit was due to the company misleading Arkansans over the safety of ChatGPT. Arkansans have a right to truthful information, he said.
Similar lawsuits were filed Wednesday by the attorneys general of Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arizona, Idaho, Montana and Utah.
Griffin said the lawsuit alleges consumers, including minors, used ChatGPT to obtain information related to self-harm and suicide. He cited instances in which users were able to circumvent OpenAI’s safety controls to generate responses the company said its safeguards were intended to block.
The attorney general said those incidents call into question whether consumers were given an accurate understanding of the platform’s safety protections. He argued that OpenAI’s assurances about ChatGPT’s safety have resulted in harm to users and, in some cases, loss of life.
The lawsuit alleges that Arkansas violated multiple laws and legal standards in its claims against OpenAI. Officials contend the company misled consumers by making false or deceptive statements about ChatGPT, withholding important information about the product and engaging in practices that violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The complaint also alleges violations of the Children’s and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, claiming OpenAI improperly collected and retained personal information from children and teens and failed to provide adequate notice or obtain required consent before gathering data.
In addition, the state is pursuing several common-law claims, including negligence, product design defects, failure to warn users about risks, unjust enrichment and creating a public nuisance.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare that OpenAI violated Arkansas consumer protection and online privacy laws and to bar the company from committing further violations, including collecting data from minors.
State officials are also seeking an order requiring OpenAI to clearly disclose ChatGPT’s risks and limitations, provide restitution to affected consumers and pay civil penalties. In addition, the lawsuit seeks to halt further advanced AI testing and the development of models capable of recursive self-improvement until officials say adequate safeguards are in place.
