OpenAI committed – OpenAI said it is taking states’ concerns “seriously” and will “engage constructively” after a coalition of states launched an investigation into how ChatGPT affects young users. The response comes alongside New York Attorney General Letitia James serving a su
ChatGPT was built to be protective, OpenAI says. But this week, the company is being pulled into a legal spotlight—one that focuses on what happens to young users once a chatbot starts answering.
OpenAI said it is “committed to learning” after a coalition of states launched an investigation into how the tech startup’s products impact users. An OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement that the company is taking the states’ concerns “seriously” and will “engage constructively with their offices.”.
The spokesperson also pointed to changes inside the product. “Today’s ChatGPT includes a more protective experience for minors and people experiencing difficult situations, with safeguards that direct them to real-world resources and trusted human contacts,” the statement said.
“None of this changes what families have gone through, but we are committed to learning, improving, and getting this right,” the spokesperson added.
The investigation adds pressure after New York State Attorney General Letitia James served OpenAI a subpoena on Friday. seeking a wide range of documents. The documents pertain to user engagement and retention. the company’s handling of health and consumer data. deep learning models. and activities related to young and older users. among other items. The Wall Street Journal first reported the subpoena.
This is not the first time OpenAI has faced courtroom and regulatory scrutiny. The company has navigated copyright infringement claims, privacy lawsuits, and a high-profile trial pitting SpaceX CEO Elon Musk against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
But several lawsuits allege something more direct: that ChatGPT contributed to decisions by users to die by suicide. In response to a May report by The New York Times. OpenAI said ChatGPT “is not a substitute for medical or mental health care. ” and said it “continued to strengthen how it responds in sensitive and acute situations with input from mental health experts.”.
The current legal pressure also extends beyond general concerns about harm. The family of a victim in a fatal campus shooting at Florida State University in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI. The family says ChatGPT’s guardrails failed to recognize the threat in the shooter’s conversations with the chatbot. In June, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed yet another lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman over the shooting.
In that complaint. Uthmeier says ChatGPT has “aided and abetted deadly rampages” and “encouraged vulnerable people into suicide.” The state attorney general also says users have become addicted to ChatGPT. calling it a tool that “feigns human compassion to collect their data with no parental oversight.”.
OpenAI responded to the shooting-related claims by saying it had introduced further safety measures into its products. “Losing a child is the most devastating tragedy that can happen to a family and we know that no words can come close to addressing the pain of such a loss. ” the company said in a statement at the time.
The coalition effort moving through state legal systems follows a similar path taken in the past. The coordinated investigation launched by the state attorneys on Friday mirrors an investigation into TikTok that resulted in a 14-state lawsuit now making its way through the courts.
Like the OpenAI effort, the TikTok lawsuit is led by the attorneys general of California and New York. The states say TikTok knowingly uses addictive features to lure kids, which they argue negatively impacts their mental health.
Lawyers told Business Insider that it is a common strategy for states to band together when they go after multibillion-dollar companies because those cases are more expensive for the companies to defend. The same approach can also keep the larger legal challenge alive even if a case falters in one state. allowing it to continue in another. The strategy has also been used before. including when the government went after Purdue Pharma. the maker of OxyContin. in 2017. and the tobacco industry in the 1990s.
For OpenAI. the message from states is clear: the questions are not only about technology. but about outcomes—especially for minors. For the company, the response is equally direct. It is “taking the states’ concerns ‘seriously. ’” and says its focus is on learning and improving. even as lawsuits continue to point to the real-world consequences families say they faced.
OpenAI ChatGPT state investigation Letitia James subpoena minors user engagement retention health data consumer data deep learning models TikTok lawsuit Elon Musk Sam Altman Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier Florida State University shooting
So is this about spyware or just “protective” settings? Either way it’s creepy.
They keep saying it’s “committed to learning” like that makes it safer for kids. If it’s so protective then why are states investigating??
I saw something about kids using ChatGPT and somehow leading to suicide decisions… like that’s the main issue right? But also it says “engagement and retention” documents, which sounds like they’re tracking behavior which is messed up. Idk just seems like money stuff.
OpenAI changing the product for minors is good I guess, but subpoenas and “deep learning models” just make it sound like they knew all along. Also Letitia James is always in the middle of stuff, so I’m not surprised. People blaming a chatbot for everything is kinda weird though, like kids still have parents and phones. Still, “trusted human contacts” sounds like a PR line.