Eight U.S. States File Lawsuits Against OpenAI Over ChatGPT Safety

Attorneys general in eight U.S. states filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI on October 14, alleging the company violated state consumer-protection laws and endangered children, Engadget reported.

The states are Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana. Each filed in its own state court. The complaints are allegations, not findings of fact, and Engadget said OpenAI had not responded to its request for comment at the time of publication.

What the states allege

According to Engadget, the suits claim OpenAI misleads customers about the safety of its AI products, including the risk of incorrect information and of users harming themselves or others. They also point to cases in which ChatGPT allegedly contributed to a teenager's suicide and gave incorrect medical information that led to an overdose; both incidents are also the subject of separate wrongful-death suits.

• Iowa and Nebraska cite incidents involving AI agents acting unlawfully
• Some states object to OpenAI retaining data from underage users

What they want

The states seek financial penalties, clearer disclosure of product risks, an end to practices they consider deceptive, and compliance with existing law. Arkansas also asks the court to halt testing of advanced AI models until adequate safeguards are in place.

Context

OpenAI has added parental controls and child-protection features and has endorsed the Kids Online Safety Act, according to Engadget. The company said in August that it would slow some frontier-model development for safety reasons, and in September it signed a voluntary safety pact organized by the White House. Other coverage notes Florida filed a civil suit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman on June 1 over risks to minors.