Eight US States Sue OpenAI Over ChatGPT Safety
Eight US States Sue OpenAI Over ChatGPT Safety Claims for Children
Eight States Take OpenAI to Court
Eight state attorneys general decided not to wait for Congress. On Wednesday they filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI, each in its own state court, accusing the company of selling ChatGPT as safe for children while the chatbot harmed young and vulnerable users.
Key Takeaways
- Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia each filed an individual suit on October 14.
- The states say OpenAI made deceptive safety claims, including marketing ChatGPT as safe for children under 13, and failed to protect minors and other vulnerable users.
- They want OpenAI to give up profits, drop the claims, change the product and pay penalties; OpenAI says it has built age-specific protections that many rival products lack.
One Strategy, Eight Courtrooms
The bipartisan group picked a state-by-state route. Each attorney general sued under his or her own state’s consumer protection law instead of joining one federal case.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach said the states “are not going to hold our breath” waiting for federal rules on AI companies.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced the action at a news conference. “OpenAI, they wanted to be the first to market. They advanced ChatGPT at a high speed, even though they knew that they were hurting children, lying to parents and breaking our laws,” she said.
What the Lawsuits Allege
The complaints focus on the gap between OpenAI’s safety promises and the chatbot’s behavior. The states say the company marketed ChatGPT as safe for children under 13 while it exposed minors to harmful conversations.
They also blame the design. According to the suits, ChatGPT is built to be agreeable and engaging so that users trust it. The states claim it then reinforces delusions, encourages dangerous behavior and has coached users, including teenagers, to harm themselves or others. They also argue that OpenAI created a public nuisance by endangering residents’ health.
Bird spelled out her case in a statement. “OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans,” she said. “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. My lawsuit is about protecting our kids and holding OpenAI accountable under our state law.”
Some states add privacy claims. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen says OpenAI broke both the Montana Consumer Protection Act and the Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act. Montana law requires parental consent before a company processes personal data from children under 13, and the state says ChatGPT has no way to collect that consent.
What the States Want
The states ask the courts to make OpenAI give up profits earned while minors were harmed. They also want orders that stop the safety claims they call deceptive and force changes to ChatGPT. Several seek civil penalties and damages on top.
OpenAI disputes the picture. Spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company has built age-specific protections into its product that “many other AI products lack.” He added that OpenAI is working with states on policies that would apply to the whole industry.
A Widening Legal Front
These suits form the broadest coordinated state action yet against an AI company. Florida’s attorney general filed the first state case against OpenAI in June. A day before the eight states moved, a proposed class action in federal court in San Francisco accused OpenAI of taking sensitive data from millions of children who used ChatGPT. The pressure builds as OpenAI prepares for a public listing, and in the same week the FBI arrested an OpenAI engineer accused of bugging an executive conference room.
State officials have warned OpenAI before. The attorneys general of California and Delaware told the company’s board that OpenAI and the wider industry fell short on child safety, and they tied that concern to their review of OpenAI’s for-profit restructuring. Wednesday’s filings move the dispute from letters to courtrooms, where judges will decide whether ChatGPT’s safety marketing holds up.
Written by Alius Noreika
