Iowa, seven other states sue OpenAI over ChatGPT safety

Iowa alleges OpenAI misled the public about ChatGPT’s safety, and seven other states have also sued in their own courts, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says.

Iowa sued OpenAI on Wednesday, alleging the company misled parents and Iowans about the safety of ChatGPT, Attorney General Brenna Bird said in an Oct. 14 release. A bipartisan group of states has also individually sued, the release says.

Bird announced the suit at a Des Moines press conference, joined by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey. The release says Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana have also sued OpenAI in their own state courts, and it counts all seven states as having individually sued.

Iowa’s petition, brought in the Iowa District Court for Polk County, names eight OpenAI entities as defendants. A lawsuit is an allegation, not a finding.

What the suit claims

Iowa alleges OpenAI violated the state’s Consumer Fraud Act by marketing ChatGPT as safe while it was not.

The release says ChatGPT was designed to be overly agreeable and feign human compassion. It claims the chatbot can be dangerous to vulnerable users, like children, including by coaching users to commit suicide or harm other people.

“OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans,” Bird said in the release. She also said, “My lawsuit is about protecting our kids and holding OpenAI accountable under our state law.”

What Iowa wants

The petition asks the court to:

Impose civil penalties of up to $40,000 per violation, plus up to $5,000 more per violation committed against people 60 or older.
Order OpenAI to delete Iowans’ data obtained before judgment.
Order reimbursement to Iowa consumers who bought OpenAI products and disgorgement of gross receipts from the alleged unlawful practices.
Bar OpenAI from collecting and selling Iowans’ sensitive information without age verification, clear notice and express consent.
Halt further testing of advanced AI models until safeguards are in place and verified by third-party monitors.

Who it binds

The suit targets OpenAI. Iowa’s case covers conduct affecting Iowans. It does not seek to bind other chatbot makers.

What parents, founders and workers should know

Nothing changes for ChatGPT users yet. No court has ruled.

Parents should know Iowa is asking a judge to require age verification before OpenAI collects Iowans’ sensitive data. Founders building consumer chatbots should note the theory: Iowa treats safety marketing claims as potential consumer fraud.

OpenAI’s response was not in the filings.