Eight US states sue OpenAI over ChatGPT child safety claims

Eight states take OpenAI to court

OpenAI is facing simultaneous lawsuits from eight US states that accuse the company of harming children and misrepresenting how safe ChatGPT really is. According to The Verge, which built on earlier reporting by Reuters, the complaints were filed separately by Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana.

Rather than a single joint action, each state brought its own case under local consumer protection law — a structure that spreads OpenAI's legal exposure across multiple jurisdictions at once.

What the lawsuits allege

The complaints argue that OpenAI broke state consumer protection rules by failing to warn customers about the dangers of its chatbot. As evidence of real-world harm, they point to existing lawsuits brought by families of teenagers and adults who claim ChatGPT played a role in their loved ones' deaths.

According to the filings cited by The Verge, the states contend that OpenAI marketed ChatGPT as a youth-appropriate product that prioritizes safety, when it was in fact dangerous to vulnerable users. The alleged harms listed include eroding critical thinking, reinforcing paranoid or delusional thinking, dispensing unsafe medical advice, and encouraging unhealthy behaviors and relationships.

The states further accuse OpenAI of collecting data from minors and of not doing enough to stop underage users from accessing the chatbot in the first place. The complaints also reference recent incidents involving rogue AI agents engaged in hacking, which the states present as further proof of recklessness.

Arizona's filing makes the broadest argument: that OpenAI has drifted from its origins as a safety-focused nonprofit and become a warning example of what happens when a technology as powerful as AI is developed under a profit-first mindset that sidelines essential safeguards.

OpenAI's response

In an emailed statement to The Verge, OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company has built what it describes as "industry-leading age-specific protections" into ChatGPT. He conceded that no system can be perfect, said OpenAI will keep working with outside experts, and pointed to safeguards that already exist, including parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model protections.

Pusateri added that OpenAI is committed to working with states on pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry, positioning the company's defense around the idea that it is being singled out rather than judged by a standard its competitors would also have to meet.

What the states want

The plaintiffs are asking courts to impose a series of civil penalties on OpenAI and to stop the company from making misleading claims about ChatGPT's safety. Some states are also seeking the deletion of personal data they argue was collected unlawfully from users.

Why it matters

This is one of the most significant legal challenges an AI company has faced from US state governments. Rather than waiting for dedicated AI legislation, states are wielding long-standing consumer protection and data privacy statutes against a chatbot marketed to families — a legal avenue that exists today and could be replicated against any AI vendor.

If even some of these suits succeed, the consequences would go beyond fines: court-ordered data deletion and restrictions on safety marketing would change how OpenAI can position ChatGPT, particularly for younger users. The cases also arrive amid intensifying scrutiny of AI products' effects on minors, and OpenAI's own framing — that policy should bind the whole industry, not one company — previews the defense strategy likely to define this litigation as it moves through the courts.