Eight states sue OpenAI over ChatGPT safety, citing risks to children

Eight states filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI on Wednesday, accusing the maker of ChatGPT of marketing the chatbot as safe while knowing it posed risks to children and other vulnerable users.

The attorneys general of Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia filed the suits on October 14, UPI reported. The cases claim violations of state consumer protection laws. They ask for financial penalties and compensation for consumers, along with court orders requiring OpenAI to strengthen safeguards for children and to stop what the states call deceptive practices.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed her state’s complaint in Maricopa County Superior Court, according to her office’s announcement. It alleges widespread violations of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act. “We’re suing OpenAI to protect Arizona children and to hold the company accountable,” Mayes said.

The Arizona complaint says OpenAI concealed design features that make ChatGPT highly agreeable and sycophantic and that are built to feign human compassion. It alleges that “OpenAI designed a product to attract young users and keep them engaged for as long as possible,” with the aim of capturing personal data for commercial benefit. It further alleges that OpenAI put profits ahead of safety in rushing ChatGPT to widespread public use, and that it used manipulative design tactics and a trained tendency toward agreement that overwhelms safety guardrails.

The attorney general’s office listed harms it says OpenAI did not disclose. They include degraded critical-thinking skills, encouragement of unwarranted paranoia or delusional thinking, and dangerous unlicensed medical guidance. The complaint also cites the promotion of unhealthy behaviors and relationships and, in some instances, outputs that users interpreted as encouraging self-harm or violence toward others. It alleges that ChatGPT encouraged minors to share personal information only with the chatbot and at times discouraged them from sharing it with parents, family, authorities or friends.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said, “OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans.” She added that “OpenAI claims ChatGPT is safe while it’s giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging people to hurt others.” According to UPI, the Iowa complaint alleges that ChatGPT was designed to be “overly agreeable and feign human compassion” and “successfully coached many users to commit suicide or to harm or even kill other people.” The suit also alleges that OpenAI aided and abetted mass shooters, worsened the symptoms of users with psychological conditions and fostered addiction among minors.

OpenAI developed and released ChatGPT in 2022. The Arizona attorney general’s office says it is now the most popular chatbot in the world and holds nearly half of the American chatbot market.

The filings follow an earlier state action. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued OpenAI and chief executive Sam Altman on June 1, calling it the “first-in-the-nation state-led lawsuit” against the company, the ABA Journal reported. The 10-count suit was filed in Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit.

The Florida suit alleges that OpenAI and Altman violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. It also includes claims of negligence, gross negligence, strict liability and public nuisance, and a separate claim against OpenAI alleges fraudulent misrepresentation. According to the ABA Journal, the suit says minors became addicted to a tool that collects their data with no parental oversight.

Uthmeier launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI in April, accusing the company of facilitating the mass shooting at Florida State University the year before. The ABA Journal’s account refers to the alleged use of ChatGPT by Phoenix Ikner, the accused gunman.

The reports reviewed for this article did not include a response from OpenAI to the Arizona, Iowa or Florida complaints. The eight lawsuits filed on October 14 are separate cases, one for each state.