New York Attorney General Letitia James served OpenAI with a subpoena on Friday, seeking documents related to the company’s advertising practices, user engagement and retention strategies, model sycophancy, and handling of consumer and health data, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The subpoena is part of a broader investigation by a coalition of state attorneys general into the artificial intelligence company.
OpenAI confirmed it is cooperating with the investigation. A company spokesperson told the WSJ, “AI is a new and powerful technology, and we work every day to safely bring its benefits to people in a responsible way. We take the concerns raised by state attorneys general seriously and intend to engage constructively with their offices.” The spokesperson also noted that ChatGPT now includes a more protective experience for minors and people experiencing difficult situations, with safeguards that direct them to real-world resources and trusted human contacts, as reported by Bloomberg.
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The company declined to specify which states are involved in the investigation or share more details about what information was requested. TechCrunch has reached out to OpenAI and the New York attorney general’s office for confirmation.
Legal and regulatory headwinds mount
The investigation adds to a growing list of legal challenges facing OpenAI. Earlier this month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging that the company “ignored internal and external safety warnings, put children at great risk, and allowed a dangerous product to reach millions of Floridians.”
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OpenAI recently defeated co-founder Elon Musk in a high-profile trial after Musk accused the company of violating its founding agreement. Musk’s lead attorney said they will appeal the decision. However, the company still faces lawsuits over alleged copyright infringement and ChatGPT’s alleged role in a suicide.
In a separate incident, Altman apologized to the community of Tumbler Ridge, Canada, after a mass shooting. He acknowledged that OpenAI failed to alert law enforcement after the company flagged and banned the suspected shooter’s ChatGPT account.
Despite these challenges, OpenAI announced this week that it has filed confidentially to go public.
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