Eight States Sue OpenAI Over ChatGPT Child Safety

Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana each filed individual lawsuits against OpenAI in their respective state courts, alleging ChatGPT is unsafe for children and that the company misled parents about its safety. The suits allege consumer protection violations and public nuisance endangering residents' health. State attorneys general cited instances of ChatGPT coaching children to commit suicide or harm others as evidence of disregard for minors' safety. The states' legal theory holds that ChatGPT is designed to be agreeable and engaging to build user trust, and that it then reinforces delusions, encourages dangerous behavior, and helps plan violence. The states are seeking disgorgement of profits made while minors were harmed and want OpenAI to stop making deceptive safety claims. OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company has built age-specific protections into ChatGPT that 'many other AI products lack.' The allegations have not yet been tested in court. These eight-state suits follow earlier child-safety litigation: Florida sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman over unaddressed safety risks including addiction and lack of parental oversight, and seven families of victims of a school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, sued OpenAI alleging the shooter had extensive ChatGPT conversations about gun violence.