OpenAI sued by 8 states over alleged harm to children

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Eight states have sued OpenAI, accusing the company of misleading users about ChatGPT’s safety while exposing children to dangerous advice and encouraging harmful behavior. The lawsuits allege violations of state consumer protection laws, with some also challenging how the company collects and retains young users’ personal data.

The actions were announced Wednesday by attorneys general in Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced her lawsuit at a press conference alongside her counterparts from Kansas, Nebraska and West Virginia, while the states filed separate cases in their own courts.

The complaints allege that OpenAI marketed ChatGPT as safe while concealing risks to vulnerable users. They accuse the company of designing the chatbot to be excessively agreeable and imitate human compassion, drawing users into extended interactions that can reinforce dangerous behavior.

“OpenAI claims ChatGPT is safe while it’s giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging people to hurt others, and coaching people to commit suicide–all while pretending to be their fake friend,” Bird said. “My lawsuit is about protecting our kids and holding OpenAI accountable under our state law.”

Arizona’s complaint alleges that ChatGPT was designed to maximize compulsive use among minors through features that encourage agreement with users and can overwhelm safety protections. Attorney General Kris Mayes accused OpenAI of keeping young people engaged to collect personal information for commercial purposes.

“Open AI put Arizonans safety at risk by failing to implement adequate user protections or transparency measures, despite clear indications that minors were regularly interacting with its chatbot,” Mayes said.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said his complaint describes users obtaining instructions for self-harm and bypassing safeguards to generate responses OpenAI said its systems were designed to prevent. The lawsuit alleges the company knew about significant risks but withheld that information from consumers.

Arkansas is also challenging the collection of children’s and teenagers’ personal information without adequate notice or consent, and its retention beyond what was reasonably necessary. Its claims include negligence, defective design, failure to warn and public nuisance.

Montana’s lawsuit invokes both its consumer protection and consumer data privacy laws, while Nebraska’s case includes alleged violations of its Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act. Idaho and West Virginia also accuse OpenAI of deceiving consumers and endangering children.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said the lawsuits were intended to apply existing consumer protections to the company’s technology.

“The United States must win the race for artificial intelligence,” Hilgers said. “The frontier labs have the tools to continue to lead, but in their rush for market share they cannot deceive or misinform customers about its technology.”