State AGs Warn OpenAI: Fix Child Safety or Forfeit For-Profit Plans
▼ Summary
– California and Delaware attorneys general have expressed concerns about ChatGPT’s risks to children and plan to review OpenAI’s shift toward for-profit operations.
– The letter follows a lawsuit from parents who claim OpenAI played a role in their 16-year-old son’s suicide, citing recent deaths as unacceptable and damaging public trust.
– OpenAI initially backtracked on becoming fully for-profit but still plans to restructure as a public benefit corporation to balance business and societal interests.
– The company is enhancing child safety with upcoming parental controls, including options to manage ChatGPT interactions and receive distress notifications.
– OpenAI is not alone in facing legal scrutiny over child safety, as Meta has also received similar attention from officials regarding its features and interactions with minors.
A coalition of state attorneys general has issued a stern warning to OpenAI, demanding the company strengthen its child safety protocols or face potential obstacles to its planned shift toward for-profit operations. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings jointly dispatched a letter to the AI firm, highlighting what they describe as unacceptable risks that ChatGPT and related products may pose to young users.
The officials emphasized their intention to scrutinize OpenAI’s ongoing transition into a commercial entity, insisting that the interests of its nonprofit beneficiaries must be safeguarded and that the organization’s founding mission should remain central. This move follows a tragic lawsuit filed by the parents of a 16-year-old who took his own life, alleging that OpenAI’s technology contributed to the incident.
In the communication addressed to OpenAI’s board, the attorneys general expressed a shared conviction that neither OpenAI nor the broader AI industry has done enough to guarantee safety in the development and rollout of artificial intelligence tools. They described recent fatalities purportedly connected to ChatGPT as deeply troubling and damaging to public trust.
Earlier this year, OpenAI reversed course on certain aspects of its for-profit transition but still intends to convert its capped-profit commercial division into a public benefit corporation. This legal structure, recognized in Delaware, requires the company to balance financial objectives with positive social impact. Founded as a nonprofit in 2015, OpenAI introduced a for-profit wing in 2019, a move that has since sparked legal challenges, including a suit from co-founder Elon Musk alleging improper self-dealing by CEO Sam Altman.
OpenAI has publicly committed to enhancing protections for younger audiences. New parental controls are slated for release in the coming month, offering caregivers the ability to customize how ChatGPT interacts with their children and receive alerts during situations suggesting severe emotional distress.
It’s worth noting that OpenAI is not alone in facing legal and regulatory pressure over child safety practices. Other major tech firms, including Meta, have also come under fire this year from state and federal officials concerned about how AI and social platforms engage with minors.
Editor’s Note: PCMag’s parent company, Ziff Davis, initiated legal proceedings against OpenAI in April 2025, asserting copyright infringement in the training and operation of its AI systems.
(Source: PC Mag)
