[I wrote earlier today about the TRO motion that requested the order; but I wanted to repost some of that, with modifications as needed, now that the order had been issued.]
In her temporary restraining order application in Doe v. OpenAI (see also the complaint), plaintiff asked that OpenAI cut off ChatGPT access by a user:
Plaintiff Jane Doe is in immediate danger. Driven by a ChatGPT-fueled delusional spiral, her ex-boyfriend (the "User") stalked and harassed her for months—generating dozens of fake psychological reports about her via ChatGPT and distributing them to her family, friends, and colleagues, which escalated to leaving her voicemails threatening her physical safety.
His campaign culminated in encoding a death threat through ChatGPT and sending it to her family, just before he was arrested on four felony counts, including communicating a bomb threat and assault with a deadly weapon in January 2026. The criminal court deemed him incompetent and ordered him committed to a mental health facility, but—just two days ago—ordered his release due to a procedural failure by the state (a delay in transferring him from jail to the facility)….
Before he was arrested, the User was in constant communication with ChatGPT, which affirmed his delusions that he had cured sleep apnea, that the medical industry was out to get him, and that his ex-girlfriend was the problem. As he became more unhinged, it also began consulting on violent plans against third parties: in addition to helping him harass and threaten Plaintiff, his account contains conversations titled "Violence list expansion" and "Fetal suffocation calculation." [My read of the exhibits to the TRO application suggests that "fetal suffocation calculation" likely refers to the user's theories that maternal sleep apnea causes fetal asphyxiation, not to plans by the user to violently suffocate fetuses, though I appreciate that is guesswork on my part. -EV]
With the User now ordered to be freed for procedural reasons, he will be further emboldened in his belief that his worldview was exactly right. It is a certainty that he will immediately attempt to turn back to ChatGPT—again spinning out his delusions and planning violence on the platform….
