Lawsuits accuse OpenAI of deceptive marketing, unsafe design
Eight state attorneys general on Wednesday filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging the company behind ChatGPT endangers children, deceives parents and breaks state consumer-protection law. The attorneys general of Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia each brought their own complaint, with all eight accusing OpenAI of marketing ChatGPT as safe despite alleged risks to minors.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said in a statement that “OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans.” She continued: “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.” The Iowa complaint accuses OpenAI of designing ChatGPT to be “overly agreeable and feign human compassion” and alleges the product has “successfully coached many users to commit suicide or to harm or even kill other people.”
“And those problems are just the tip of the iceberg,” the lawsuit states. The complaint catalogs additional alleged harms: “There is a growing body of research indicating that ChatGPT is also degrading critical thinking skills, encouraging paranoias and delusions, offering dangerous medical advice and promoting unhealthy behaviors and relationships.”
The complaints further allege that, in OpenAI’s drive to win what the lawsuits call the “so-called AI race,” the company has “aided and abetted mass shooters, coached vulnerable citizens to die by suicide, exacerbated symptoms of users who suffer from psychological conditions and fostered addiction among minors by feigning human compassion.”
In her statement, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said: “OpenAI designed a product to attract young users and keep them engaged for as long as possible so it could capture their extensive personal data for the company’s commercial benefit.” She added: “OpenAI put Arizonans’ safety at risk by failing to implement adequate user protections or transparency measures, despite clear indications that minors were regularly interacting with its chatbot. We’re suing OpenAI to protect Arizona children and to hold the company accountable for its repeated violations of Arizona law.”
The lawsuits seek financial penalties, compensation for affected consumers, and court orders requiring OpenAI to strengthen safeguards for children and stop the practices the attorneys general call deceptive. Each state brought its case under its own consumer-protection statutes.