OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is facing a fresh legal challenge in the United States: eight states — Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana — have filed lawsuits based on separate but closely similar allegations.

According to state officials, OpenAI prioritized profit over safety in developing ChatGPT, and failed to adequately warn users — particularly young people — about the risks the chatbot may pose.

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The common thread across the lawsuits is the claim that local consumer protection statutes were violated. The states argue that OpenAI did not sufficiently inform users, and especially minors, about the dangers ChatGPT could present.

The filings also reference individual lawsuits previously brought by families alleging that the AI chatbot contributed to suicides or deaths of teens and adults.

Prosecutors contend that OpenAI marketed ChatGPT as a safe, youth-appropriate product with safety as a priority, when the reality was allegedly the opposite — a platform that poses serious dangers to vulnerable user groups.

What the filings allege

Among the specific claims: that ChatGPT weakens users' capacity for critical thinking, fuels paranoia and delusions, offers medical advice that could put lives at risk, and encourages unhealthy behavioral patterns.

The complaints also allege that the company collected children's personal data without permission and failed to put adequate safeguards in place to restrict minors' access to the system.

The harshest language came from Arizona, whose filing states that OpenAI has drifted away from its identity as a safety-focused, non-profit organization and has become an example of a company that pushes basic safety measures aside in pursuit of profit under all circumstances.

OpenAI's response

The company did not leave the accusations unanswered. OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri argued that ChatGPT includes age-specific protections that are pioneering within the industry.

Pusateri emphasized that no system can be flawless, and said the company will work with experts to further strengthen existing safeguards such as parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model restrictions.