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BOISE — Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced a lawsuit against OpenAI on Wednesday, alleging the company behind ChatGPT has harmed Idaho’s children and violated provisions of the state’s Idaho Consumer Protection Act.

The lawsuit alleges OpenAI has broadly misled the public into believing its AI chatbot ChatGPT puts consumers’ safety first and contends the platform “harms critical thinking skills” and promotes “unhealthy behaviors and relationships.”

“We have watched technology giants experience tremendous growth and gains while putting consumers, especially children, at significant risk,” Labrador said in a release from his office. “The safety of Idaho’s children cannot be an afterthought to runaway profit or technological advancements. We will hold OpenAI accountable for their reckless priorities.”

Idaho’s suit is grounded in allegations that OpenAI violated the Idaho Consumer Protection Act, which declares any “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce” to be unlawful.

The suit states OpenAI has violated the provisions of this act by understating the sensitive content and risks “Idaho consumers, including minors would encounter,” knowing users under 13 use the platform and collect all user data by default; and falsely representing ChatGPT as “reliable and suitable for sensitive and consequential tasks” including managing finances and healthcare despite “routinely” providing “inaccurate” information.

The suit also cites several instances where ChatGPT “encouraged and assisted” some users into taking their own lives and says Idaho consumers were not warned about the dangers of the chatbot, including instances where “ChatGPT has facilitated suicide, self-harm, or violence.”

To address these allegations and several others, the lawsuit requests the court grant a variety of requests. These requests include payment for damages, ongoing notification of instances where AI agents engage in unauthorized system access, and new safety measures deemed necessary to protect Idahoans, including age verification systems.

Idaho’s lawsuit was filed in the Fourth Judicial District Court in Ada County the same day as seven other states filed independent lawsuits against OpenAI, each leveling similar allegations ChatGPT had harmed residents. The states that announced similar legal action are Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia, as was reported by Reuters.

The lawsuit arrives as the Boise School District announced last month it was working with OpenAI directly to expand access to ChatGPT for educators, as was reported by Idaho Education News.

ChatGPT is slated to be deployed within the Boise School District’s technology department before being expanded to the administration and a select group of teachers. Introduction of the chatbot for all teachers is slated to arrive in early 2027, as was previously reported by the Idaho Press.

In an emailed response to the Idaho Press, an OpenAI spokesperson pointed to existing safeguards connecting users with models according to their age, which exist alongside parental controls and terms of service requiring users under the age of 13 to receive permission from a parent or guardian before creating an account.

According to OpenAI, ChatGPT uses safeguards to identify users under age 18 through “prediction,” “behavioral signals” and “age verification” and otherwise.

“We’ve built industry-leading age-specific protections into our product that many other AI products lack,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “While no system can be perfect, we’ll continue to work with experts to inform our work and build additional safeguards, such as the parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model protections that exist today. We’re committed to working with states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry — not just one company.”

The spokesperson said the company would continue sharing steps taken in response to “incidents of misalignment,” referring to cases where AI systems have deviated from safety goals or human instruction. Previous action has included a ‘“broader review of model activity” and a publication of findings.

Royce McCandless is the Statehouse reporter and covers Idaho politics. You can email him at [email protected].

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