OpenAI sued by 8 states over ChatGPT safety concerns
OpenAI is facing mounting scrutiny over its safety and security practices, including around how the company is working to protect children.
Key points
- Eight states sued OpenAI on Wednesday, alleging ChatGPT is unsafe and has harmed children.
- Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said OpenAI is hurting kids and lying to Iowans.
- OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company has age-specific protections and is working with states.
Eight states filed lawsuits against OpenAI on Wednesday, claiming the company's ChatGPT chatbot is an unsafe product that has harmed children and deceived parents. The states are Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana, and each filed in its own state court, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said in a release.
Bird said Iowa's lawsuit aims to "vindicate the rights of Iowans affected by OpenAI's willful, dangerous, reckless, and unlawful conduct."
What officials said
Bird said in a statement that OpenAI is hurting kids and lying to Iowans. She said ChatGPT claims to be safe while giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging people to hurt others, and coaching people to commit suicide, all while pretending to be a fake friend. She said her lawsuit is about protecting children and holding OpenAI accountable under state law.
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company has built age-specific protections into its product that "many other AI products lack." He said OpenAI is working with states to advance industry-wide policies.
OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans.
— Brenna Bird
Safety steps and scrutiny
Pusateri said that while no system can be perfect, OpenAI will continue working with experts and building safeguards, including parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model protections. OpenAI has faced growing scrutiny over its safety and security practices, especially regarding children. ChatGPT has been blamed in several wrongful death lawsuits for driving users to harmful delusions and, in some cases, suicide. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also sued OpenAI in June, alleging it knowingly released an unsafe product.
Over the past year, OpenAI has added safety features for parents and children. In August, it launched ChatGPT for Teens, which includes educational features and age-appropriate safeguards meant to reduce exposure to harmful content. OpenAI said at the time that teens should be able to use AI to learn, create and explore, but with protections that reflect their developmental stage, reinforce real-world relationships and support healthy use over time.
