The Pulse
At Least Eight States Sue OpenAI Over ChatGPT Safety
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sued OpenAI, alleging that it misled consumers about ChatGPT’s safety. Arkansas says eight other states filed similar suits that day, Utah among them; Iowa’s release names seven.
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on October 14, alleging that the company told Arkansans ChatGPT was safe while concealing significant risks and limitations. Arkansas’s release says the attorneys general of eight other states filed similar lawsuits that day; Iowa’s announcement names seven of them, without Utah. The allegations have not been resolved in court.
“The consequences of that assurance are lives lost and people harmed.”
Tim Griffin, Arkansas attorney general
Arkansas alleges safety claims hid known risks
Griffin’s statement says consumers, including minors, have used ChatGPT to obtain instructions for self-harm, including suicide. It also describes instances in which users bypassed OpenAI’s safety measures and generated responses the company said its safeguards were designed to prevent. The lawsuit argues those examples raise questions about whether consumers received an accurate picture of ChatGPT’s protections.
Arkansas alleges violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, including knowingly making false representations, engaging in deceptive practices and omitting material facts with the intent that consumers rely on those omissions. The state also alleges violations of the Children’s and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act. Those claims include knowingly collecting personal information from children and teens, retaining it longer than reasonably necessary, and failing to provide notice and obtain consent for data collection.
The lawsuit also brings common-law claims, including negligence, strict liability for design defect, strict liability for failure to warn, unjust enrichment and public nuisance. These are claims made by the state, not findings that OpenAI violated the law.
Other states filed separate cases
Arkansas’s release names them as Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arizona, Idaho, Montana and Utah. Iowa’s announcement the same day names the same states except Utah. They filed similar lawsuits, but the cases are separate actions, not one multistate complaint. State officials’ consumer-protection and child-safety allegations are now before courts in their respective states.
Arkansas’s claims concern both the way ChatGPT responds to users and the information OpenAI allegedly collected from minors. The state contends that users could get around safeguards that were supposed to prevent harmful responses, and that consumers were not accurately informed about the product’s risks. Its privacy allegations separately challenge how data from children and teens was collected, how long it was kept, and whether notice and consent were provided.
Arkansas seeks disclosures and limits on development
The state asks a court to declare that OpenAI violated the two Arkansas statutes and to prohibit further violations, including collecting minors’ data. It also seeks clear and prominent disclosures of ChatGPT’s material risks, restitution for affected consumers and civil penalties.
Arkansas is also asking for an injunction against further advanced AI testing and the creation of models capable of recursive self-improvement until adequate safeguards are in place. That request reaches beyond ChatGPT’s current protections to some future model development. It is relief the state has asked the court to order, not a restriction already imposed by a judge.
The lawsuit combines those requested limits with claims about consumer representations, data practices and alleged harms to users, including minors. The separate filings in the other states add parallel legal challenges, but each case remains an individual action.