Arkansas attorney general sues OpenAI over ChatGPT safety claims

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sued OpenAI over allegations that the company concealed safety risks associated with its ChatGPT chatbot.

“Our complaint outlines numerous violations of Arkansas law, but they all boil down to a simple fact: OpenAI represented to Arkansans that ChatGPT was safe, but they knew ChatGPT had significant risks and limitations. They chose to hide that knowledge from consumers,” Griffin said.

The complaint alleges that consumers and minors have used ChatGPT to obtain information about self-harm, including suicide. The suit also describes instances where users were able to bypass OpenAI’s safety measures and generate responses the company said the safeguards were supposed to prevent, raising questions about whether users were misled about the product’s safety.

“OpenAI assures us that ChatGPT is safe. The consequences of that assurance are lives lost and people harmed,” Griffin said.

The lawsuit filed by Griffin includes three categories of claims:

• Violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, including knowingly making false representations to consumers; unconscionable, false, or deceptive practices; deception and fraud in interactions with consumers; and omissions of material facts with the intent for consumers to rely upon them.
• Children’s and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act violations, including knowingly collecting personal information from children and teens; knowingly retaining the personal information of a child or teen for longer than is reasonably necessary; and failing to provide notice and gain consent for the collection of data and information.
• Common law claims, including negligence; strict liability — design defect; strict liability — failure to warn; unjust enrichment; and public nuisance.

Arkansas’s lawsuit seeks relief through:

• A declaration that OpenAI violated the ADTPA and CTOPPA, as well as an injunction against further violations, including the collection of minors’ data.
• A requirement that OpenAI provide clear and conspicuous disclosures of the material risks of ChatGPT.
• Restitution to consumers who have been affected.
• Civil penalties.
• An injunction against further advanced AI testing and the creation of models capable of recursive self-improvement until adequate safeguards are in place.

Several similar lawsuits against OpenAI were filed by the attorneys general of Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, and Utah.

Read the lawsuit online.

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