Multiple US states subpoena OpenAI over ChatGPT user safety amid IPO push
Several US state attorneys general have demanded a wide range of documents from OpenAI about how ChatGPT protects users, posing a fresh challenge as the company prepares for a potential initial public offering.
OpenAI is facing a new regulatory hurdle after a group of state attorneys general subpoenaed extensive documents regarding ChatGPT's user safety measures. The move comes at a sensitive time for the company, which is laying the groundwork for a potential stock market listing. The investigation, launched just days after OpenAI filed confidential IPO paperwork, threatens to complicate a listing that analysts estimate could value the ChatGPT maker at roughly $1 trillion (€861bn).
According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the matter, OpenAI received the subpoena on Friday from a group of states led by New York's attorney general. Officials are requesting materials covering the company's advertising practices, how it retains users, its handling of consumer and health data, and its policies toward minors and older adults.
OpenAI said it would engage with the offices behind the request and stressed that protections are already built into its product. A spokesperson stated that the company takes the attorneys general's concerns "seriously" and works to responsibly bring the technology's benefits to people. However, the firm has not confirmed which other US states are participating.
The subpoena adds to a growing list of legal headaches. Last Thursday, a Canadian woman sued OpenAI, blaming ChatGPT for her daughter's suicide. Earlier in June, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed suit against the company and CEO Sam Altman after two shootings in which the alleged attackers reportedly used the chatbot to plan their crimes. OpenAI responded that its models repeatedly urged the individuals to seek help from mental health professionals and that it cooperated with police in both cases.
These are not the first courtroom tests of the year for OpenAI. In May, a federal jury in Oakland, California took less than two hours to reject Elon Musk's lawsuit accusing Altman of abandoning the firm's nonprofit roots, finding he had filed too late. Musk, who called the ruling a "calendar technicality," said he would appeal.
The clampdown also extends across the industry. European regulators have opened investigations into Musk's rival chatbot Grok over antisemitic and sexualized content, including deepfake images. Anthropic, also preparing an IPO, was told by the Trump administration to restrict two of its models abroad on national security grounds, illustrating how AI governance has become an increasingly fraught political battleground.
