Eight States Sue OpenAI Over ChatGPT Age Verification and Consumer Protection Claims

By chasecodewell // 2026-10-16

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Eight state attorneys general filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI on Oct. 14 in their respective state courts, alleging the company's ChatGPT chatbot violates state consumer protection laws, according to copies of the petitions. The states are Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana ^[1]. The complaints allege that OpenAI failed to verify users' ages, misrepresented the safety of ChatGPT, and exposed vulnerable users – including children – to harmful content, according to the filings. The lawsuits seek fines, penalties and court orders requiring changes to OpenAI's business practices, including the implementation of age verification systems ^[1]. Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and West Virginia held a joint press conference to announce the legal action. The remaining states filed their lawsuits on the same day in their respective courts. The wording of the complaints is nearly identical, and most states are represented by the law firm Kibler Fowler & Cave of New York, the petitions state ^[1].

Lawsuits Allege ChatGPT Provided Harmful Content Without Age Checks

The complaints state that no age verification is required to access the ChatGPT website, according to the petitions. The states allege that ChatGPT was sold as safe but in reality provided vulnerable users, including children, with information on self-harm, violence, dangerous medical advice and delusional beliefs. The lawsuits also claim ChatGPT was designed to be agreeable and emotionally engaging to keep users on the platform ^[1]. OpenAI has said ChatGPT has age-appropriate protections by default, and a LinkedIn advertisement stated that ChatGPT helps keep teens safe by default, according to the complaints. The states take issue with these claims, arguing they mislead parents and the public about the risks associated with the chatbot ^[1]. Separate research released in October 2026 found that important guardrails for teens using ChatGPT often failed, according to the BBC. OpenAI said at the time that it found average teen use of ChatGPT to be relatively limited and tended toward learning activity, but the research released the same day identified what it described as an unacceptable risk ^[2].

Attorneys General Seek Age Assurance, Penalties and Data Limits

West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey said there is no age verification and no guardrails for conversations about suicides, school shootings or self-harm, according to the complaint. West Virginia seeks an order to implement effective age assurance, the filing states ^[1]. Montana asks for an order stopping OpenAI from processing personal information until it requires age verification for consumers to access ChatGPT. Idaho seeks safety measures including age verification and limits on harmful or addictive features. Arkansas alleges OpenAI collected and kept personal information from minors without notice and parental consent, and seeks to bar data collection from minors ^[1]. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said OpenAI is hurting kids and lying to Iowans. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said 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. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said OpenAI assures the public that ChatGPT is safe, and the consequences of that assurance are lives lost and people harmed. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said the United States must win the race for artificial intelligence. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said the safety of Idaho children cannot be an afterthought to runaway profit or technological advancements ^[1].

OpenAI's Existing Age Prediction System and Prior Legal Challenges

OpenAI has an age prediction system that estimates whether an account belongs to a minor based on behavior on the platform, such as how long the account has existed, when the user logs in, and how they use the product, according to reports. If an adult is flagged as a minor, they can prove their age by sending a selfie or a government ID to a company called Persona. However, this system is not the same as introducing age verification for all users, which would require proving who you are to OpenAI ^[1]. The current legal action is not the first time that the lack of age verification has been used as a legal argument against OpenAI. Florida previously sued the company and asked a court to order it to implement what the state described as a robust and effective age verification system for ChatGPT ^[1]. A court previously ordered OpenAI to hand over 20 million ChatGPT conversations to The New York Times and other publishers, according to reports. This has shown that once the company behind the chatbot is forced to hand over data to one entity, there is nothing to stop it from doing the same with any other, including law enforcement ^[1].

References

States' OpenAI Lawsuits Seek Age Verification for All ChatGPT Users. https://reclaimthenet.org/openai-lawsuits-chatgpt-age-verification
OpenAI says teen ChatGPT use limited but research finds it an 'unacceptable risk.' https://bbc.com/news/articles/cwz0vrmxkvy4o

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