Eight US states sue OpenAI over ChatGPT and child safety
Eight states say OpenAI misled people about ChatGPT's safety and harmed kids, while OpenAI says it has built in protections for young users.
Eight US states are suing OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, The Verge reports. The states are Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana. Each one filed its own case.
The states say OpenAI broke laws that protect shoppers from being misled. They say OpenAI called ChatGPT safe for young people. They say ChatGPT was risky for vulnerable users. They also say OpenAI gathered data on minors. They say OpenAI did too little to keep kids off the chatbot.
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri says OpenAI has built in protections for different ages. Examples are parental controls and break reminders. He says no system is perfect. The states want OpenAI to pay fines. Some also want data that was gathered unlawfully to be deleted.
From the sourceRead the original at The Verge AI →Parents and teens who use ChatGPT are at the center of these claims. OpenAI says parental controls and break reminders already exist.
The facts
- Eight states filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI: Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana.
- The states say OpenAI broke local consumer protection laws by not warning customers about ChatGPT's dangers.
- The lawsuits say OpenAI described ChatGPT as a safe tool suited to young people, when it was actually dangerous to vulnerable users.
- The complaints point to other lawsuits, filed by relatives of teens and adults who died, that say the chatbot played a role in those deaths.
- The states say OpenAI gathered data from minors and did too little to stop underage people from using ChatGPT.
- OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri says OpenAI built age-specific protections into ChatGPT, including parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model protections.
- The states ask courts to order OpenAI to pay civil penalties and stop misleading the public. Some also want unlawfully collected personal data deleted.
Sources
- The Verge AI: Eight states sue OpenAI, saying ChatGPT isn’t safe for kids
Published
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