8 states are suing OpenAI, saying ChatGPT harms kids. Here are their demands, from data deletion to halting AI testing.

• Eight states sued OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT encouraged self-harm and violence.
• The lawsuits accuse OpenAI of misleading consumers about ChatGPT's safety.
• States are seeking fines, data deletion, age checks, and limits on advanced AI testing.

OpenAI is facing a new legal offensive from eight states whose attorneys general allege that ChatGPT has encouraged some users, including teenagers, to hurt themselves or others.

A bipartisan group of attorneys general filed separate lawsuits Wednesday, accusing OpenAI of misleading consumers about safety and of designing the chatbot to cultivate trust before reinforcing delusions or facilitating dangerous conduct.

The states — Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and West Virginia — also accused OpenAI of misleading consumers about ChatGPT’s safety and demanded a range of restrictions, from limits on testing of advanced models to the deletion of user data.

Here is what each state is demanding as remedies.

Attorney General Kris Mayes of Arizona alleges OpenAI used excessive agreement and simulated compassion to win user trust and collect personal data.

"OpenAI designed a product to attract young users and keep them engaged for as long as possible so it could capture their extensive personal data for the company's commercial benefit," Mayes said.

"OpenAI put Arizonans safety at risk by failing to implement adequate user protections or transparency measures," Mayes added.

According to the state's complaint, the state is seeking penalties of up to $10,000 for each willful violation. The state also wants to bar OpenAI from deploying or testing advanced models outside a secure, independently verified environment and require prompt reporting of incidents in which models escape controls or access systems without authorization.

Attorney General Tim Griffin of Arkansas alleges OpenAI concealed known risks while assuring consumers that ChatGPT was safe, and unlawfully collected teens’ personal information.

“OpenAI assures us that ChatGPT is safe. The consequences of that assurance are lives lost and people harmed,” Griffin said in a statement.

The state is seeking financial penalties and an injunction against collecting data from teens. Arkansas also wants to halt further advanced AI testing and the creation of models capable of recursive self-improvement, until adequate safeguards are in place.

Raúl Labrador, the attorney general of Idaho, alleges OpenAI misled consumers about ChatGPT’s safety while encouraging self-harm and violence, reinforcing delusions, and offering dangerous medical advice.

"The safety of Idaho children cannot be an afterthought to runaway profit or technological advancements," Labrador said in a statement on Wednesday.

In its complaint, Idaho seeks $5,000 per consumer protection violation and court-ordered safeguards, including age verification and limits on harmful or addictive features. The lawsuit also seeks to restrict advanced AI testing and deployment to secure, independently verified environments.

Iowa alleges that OpenAI misled consumers about ChatGPT’s safety and concealed risks associated with autonomous AI agents.

As a remedy, the state wants OpenAI to “delete and destroy all Iowans’ data obtained prior to the entry of this Court’s judgment.” It also seeks consumer reimbursements and penalties of up to $40,000 per consumer fraud violation, plus up to $5,000 for violations against older people aged 60 or older.

Iowa is also asking the court to halt further testing of advanced AI models until safeguards are independently verified to not be posing a danger to the public and until third-party monitors have verified the same

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach said that OpenAI deceived consumers about ChatGPT’s safety and designed features that encourage compulsive use.

“Defendants designed these products, keeping consumers ignorant of the true nature of the product,” the complaint said.

Kansas is seeking $10,000 per consumer protection violation and $20,000 per violation involving a protected consumer. It also wants restitution of funds acquired from Kansas consumers and a permanent injunction against deceptive and unconscionable practices.

In Montana's complaint filed by Attorney General Austin Knudsen, the state alleges OpenAI deceived consumers about ChatGPT’s safety and violated privacy protections, including by collecting children's data without required consent.

In the state's filing, Montana seeks penalties of $10,000 per consumer-protection violation and $7,500 per privacy violation, and to compel OpenAI to delete unlawfully obtained personal information under Montana’s privacy law.

Montana is also asking OpenAI to notify the attorney general's office should an AI agent go rogue again, and to restrict advanced model testing to a secure, independently verified environment.

Nebraska's Attorney General Mike Hilgers alleges in a complaint that OpenAI misled families about ChatGPT’s safety and failed to protect children from harmful content and emotional dependency.

According to the filing, the state is seeking $50,000 per violation of its age-appropriate design law and $2,000 per violation of its consumer protection and deceptive trade practices laws.

Nebraska also wants a court order requiring OpenAI to provide “accessible and easy-to-use options to limit the amount of time” they spend on ChatGPT, alongside adequate parental controls, age verification, and protections for minors’ personal data.

West Virginia's attorney general, John McCuskey, primarily alleges that OpenAI has misled consumers and created a public nuisance that endangers children.

As a remedy, the state wants age checks, parental controls, default session and nighttime limits for children, mandatory crisis-escalation protocols, and an independent monitor. It also asks that OpenAI fund a court-supervised plan supporting “youth crisis-response capacity and digital-safety education in public schools.”

Additionally, West Virginia seeks $5,000 per repeated consumer protection violation, along with the deletion and cessation of use of personal data it alleges was unlawfully collected from West Virginia minors.