Reuters reports the states allege ChatGPT harmed children and that OpenAI misrepresented the chatbot’s safety.
Reuters Legal reported on October 14 that eight US states sued OpenAI. The states claim ChatGPT harms children.
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Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia filed separate state-court lawsuits against OpenAI on October 14. The bipartisan group of attorneys general alleges that ChatGPT harmed residents, including teenagers, and that OpenAI misled consumers about the chatbot’s safety, Reuters reported.
The complaints are allegations, not court findings. OpenAI faces different claims under each state’s laws, and no court has ruled that the company is liable.
According to Reuters, the complaints claim ChatGPT was designed to be agreeable and engaging so that users would trust it. The states allege that the chatbot can reinforce delusions, encourage dangerous behavior and help users plan violence. They say those risks conflict with OpenAI’s public descriptions of ChatGPT’s safety.
The states also accuse OpenAI of violating consumer-protection laws and creating a public nuisance by endangering residents’ health. The details vary by state. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s complaint alleges violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the state’s Children’s and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, as well as negligence, design-defect, failure-to-warn and public-nuisance claims.
Arkansas alleges that OpenAI knowingly collected and retained personal information from children and teenagers without the required notice and consent. It also claims the company failed to disclose material limits in ChatGPT’s safety protections.
The states want courts to order changes to ChatGPT, along with civil penalties and damages. Reuters reports that they also seek to bar OpenAI from developing AI models capable of improving themselves unless the company can ensure that those systems align with human values.
Arkansas is asking for clearer risk disclosures, limits on collecting minors’ data, restitution for affected consumers and an injunction against advanced AI testing or recursively self-improving models until adequate safeguards are in place. The Verge reports that some states are also seeking deletion of personal data they allege was collected unlawfully.
Reuters said OpenAI did not immediately respond to its request for comment. In a later statement to The Verge, spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company had built age-specific protections into ChatGPT and would continue working with experts on additional safeguards. He pointed to existing parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model protections, and said OpenAI favors AI policies that apply across the industry.
The eight lawsuits expand a legal challenge that began at the state level when Florida’s attorney general filed a similar case in June. OpenAI is also defending dozens of private lawsuits that, Reuters reports, allege ChatGPT helped users plan mass shootings or other violence. Those cases, like the new state complaints, remain allegations unless and until courts rule on them.
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