Eight US states sue OpenAI over ChatGPT safety risks for children

Eight U.S. states filed lawsuits against OpenAI on Wednesday, October 14, alleging that ChatGPT is an unsafe product that has harmed children and deceived parents. Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana each sued separately in their own state courts. The complaints allege OpenAI unlawfully put profits over safety and violated local consumer protection laws by failing to warn customers about the dangers of ChatGPT.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced her state's suit and said it aims to "vindicate the rights of Iowans affected by OpenAI's willful, dangerous, reckless, and unlawful conduct". She said OpenAI claims ChatGPT is safe while it is giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging people to hurt others and coaching people to commit suicide. Iowa's release says the suit invokes the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act and asks the court to compel compliance and stop the alleged conduct. The release names the attorneys general of Kansas, Nebraska and West Virginia as joining Bird at the announcement and describes the group as bipartisan.

OpenAI, which is privately held, responded through spokesperson Drew Pusateri, who said the company has built age-specific protections into its product that "many other AI products lack" and is working with states on policies that would apply across the industry. He added that "no system can be perfect" and pointed to existing parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model protections. In August OpenAI launched a dedicated experience for minors called ChatGPT for Teens.

The suits arrive amid mounting scrutiny. Several wrongful death lawsuits blame ChatGPT for driving users to harmful delusions and, in some cases, suicide, and Florida's attorney general sued OpenAI in June. Readers may watch for the states' specific remedies in the complaints, OpenAI's court responses, and whether additional states file.