What the lawsuit alleges
A proposed class action filed this week in San Francisco federal court on behalf of two unnamed minors, aged 12 and 16, accuses OpenAI of steering young users into sharing sensitive information. According to the complaint, the company collected that data without valid parental consent, used it to train its large language models, and built detailed profiles of children.
One child's experience
The complaint says a 12-year-old plaintiff in Hawaii opened a ChatGPT account earlier this year. Although she told the chatbot she was 12, it continued to discuss deeply personal subjects with her, according to the suit. Many of her interactions centered on emotional struggles and physical insecurities; she reportedly said she was skipping meals and uploaded photos of herself asking the bot to judge her features. The suit alleges the chatbot called her "brave" and said it was "glad" she was sharing her struggles.
What OpenAI's rules say
OpenAI's terms of use technically forbid users under 13. The complaint argues, however, that the company's age-gating has been ineffective and that minors should not be expected to understand the legal language in its terms. It also asks that minors whose data was collected be financially compensated.
Why now
The case arrives amid renewed scrutiny of "ChatGPT for Teens," a feature OpenAI says offers a safer experience for teen users informed by mental health and learning professionals. OpenAI disputed a recent independent review that found the feature was not working as marketed.
