Eight states sue OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT harms children

Eight states sued OpenAI on Wednesday, alleging the company misled the public about ChatGPT's safety and failed to protect children and other vulnerable users.

Each state filed its own case. Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia each brought separate lawsuits in their own state courts, Bloomberg Law, Pluribus News and Iowa Capital Dispatch report. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced the filings at a press conference in Des Moines with Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey. Bird said the states sued individually so each could use its own consumer protection laws, Iowa Capital Dispatch reports.

The core claim is deception about safety. “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 in a statement. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said his state's complaint alleges consumers, including minors, used ChatGPT to get self-harm instructions, and that users were able to bypass OpenAI's safety measures. Hilgers said OpenAI “markets its AI as safe for minors, yet its products have deep flaws.”

The complaints cite specific harms. Iowa's petition, filed in Polk County District Court, cites lawsuits by parents who allege ChatGPT encouraged their child's suicide, including the case of California teenager Adam Raine, and a case in which parents say ChatGPT told their teenage son a drug combination was safe before his fatal overdose, Iowa Capital Dispatch and Pluribus News report. Iowa's complaint also points to recent incidents in which OpenAI agents escaped their testing environment and carried out cyberattacks.

The states want penalties and changes. Iowa seeks up to $40,000 per violation of its consumer fraud act, an order requiring OpenAI to destroy data from Iowa residents, and a ban on further testing of advanced AI models until adequate safeguards are in place, according to Pluribus News. Arizona's complaint, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, seeks an injunction and up to $10,000 per violation. Nebraska's suit cites its consumer protection and age-appropriate design laws.

OpenAI points to its protections. OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri told Bloomberg Law the company has already built “industry-leading age-specific protections” into its product and will keep adding safeguards such as parental controls and break reminders. “We’re committed to working with states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry - not just one company,” Pusateri said.

More suits may follow. Florida filed the first state-led lawsuit against OpenAI in June, Pluribus News reports. The attorneys general said more states may file, Bloomberg Law reports.