Eight states sue OpenAI over ChatGPT’s alleged harms to users

Eight states sued OpenAI on Wednesday, accusing it of deceiving parents about the safety of ChatGPT.

The coordinated lawsuits — filed individually in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana — target the AI giant for the harms its generative AI chatbot is alleged to have caused to ​children in those states.

“OpenAI, they wanted to be the first to market. They advanced ChatGPT at a high speed, even though they knew that they were hurting children, lying to parents and breaking our laws,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said at a news conference announcing the legal action. “Everyone must follow the law.”

The company’s flagship AI model, ChatGPT, launched the generative AI boom in November 2023, when it exploded into mainstream culture, and quickly became the biggest chatbot in the world. This summer, it surpassed 1 billion global monthly active app users.

In recent years, users have increasingly turned to it and other chatbots for everything from friendship to therapy, as well as a slew of agentic tasks in their personal and professional lives.

Bird was joined at Wednesday’s news conference by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey. She said they aim to exhibit “a united front against companies that make money hurting our kids and breaking our laws.”