OpenAI is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit from a Hawaii mother who alleges ChatGPT collected sensitive information from her children without parental consent, while eight states have filed separate suits.A Hawaii mother is suing OpenAI in federal court in San Francisco, alleging the chatbot e ncouraged her 12-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son to share personal details, photos, and information about their health, emotions, and relationships, as the Chronicle reports.The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, alleges the girl began using ChatGPT in February, initially asking about dinner and homework before sharing selfies over concerns about acne. She also asked the chatbot about her cheeks and what constituted a normal weight for her age. Her older brother, who began using the service in January, reportedly used it for schoolwork and relationship advice and uploaded photos of himself and his surroundings.According to the Chronicle, the complaint argues that ChatGPT’s personalized responses, memory, follow-up questions, and tendency to mirror users’ communication styles encouraged children to reveal increasingly sensitive information. It also challenges OpenAI’s reliance on users to obtain parental permission, despite its terms requiring consent for users under 18 and prohibiting children younger than 13 from using the service.“OpenAI treats a child clicking a ‘Continue’ button as proof that their parent consented to that use,” lead attorney Paul Yetter of Yetter Coleman said in a statement.The lawsuit seeks class-action status for US users who were under 18 when they accepted ChatGPT’s terms and provided data from November 2022 onward, per the Chronicle. It asks the court to award eligible users a share of OpenAI equity or its cash equivalent, based on the amount of data allegedly collected from each child.Separately, as CNBC reports, attorneys general in eight states — Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana — filed lawsuits Wednesday accusing OpenAI of harming children and misleading parents about ChatGPT’s safety.Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said her state’s lawsuit alleges the chatbot has provided dangerous medical advice, encouraged violence, and coached users toward suicide while presenting itself as a trusted companion.“OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans,” Bird said, per CNBC.OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company disagrees with the allegations, pointing to its August release of ChatGPT for Teens, which introduced age-specific protections, parental controls, break reminders, and other safeguards. The company has also argued that lawsuits and criticism targeting its products could push teenagers toward AI services with fewer protections.However, the Youth AI Safety Institute at Common Sense Media called on OpenAI to pause the product last week after independent testing identified safety problems and other concerns. OpenAI disputed the findings.The legal challenges come as OpenAI faces separate scrutiny over ChatGPT’s effects on vulnerable users, including wrongful-death lawsuits alleging the chatbot contributed to harmful delusions and suicides. CNBC reports that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also sued the company in June, alleging it knowingly released an unsafe product.Previously: ChatGPT for Teens’ Safety Guardrails Fail to Flag Crises or Limit Engagement, Says Watchdog ...read more read less