Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Anthony Cuthbertson

OpenAI accused of gathering sensitive data from millions of children

  • OpenAI is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit in California accusing it of unlawfully collecting sensitive data from millions of children to train its AI models.
  • The legal action, brought by a mother of two, alleges the company extracted private ChatGPT conversations without parental consent to build detailed profiles and profit.
  • Although OpenAI bans under-13s and requires parental consent for teenagers, the complaint notes that signing up only requires an email address and phone number.
  • Separately, eight US states have filed lawsuits claiming ChatGPT encourages dangerous behaviour and self-harm among teenagers.
  • State attorney generals accuse OpenAI of designing the chatbot to be excessively agreeable to gain trust, a sycophancy issue the company previously acknowledged.

IN FULL

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.