On October 14, 2026, attorneys general from Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and West Virginia filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI in their respective state courts. The complaints allege that ChatGPT’s design and marketing misled consumers about safety and exposed children and other users to harm. Those claims are allegations in civil lawsuits.
What the complaints allege
The cases center on state consumer-protection claims, but the legal theories vary. Iowa’s complaint pleads two counts under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act: one concerning alleged unfair or deceptive practices in ChatGPT’s marketing and design, and another concerning the testing of autonomous AI agents.
Arkansas lists claims under its Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Children’s and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act. The state also pleads common-law claims including negligence, design defect, failure to warn, unjust enrichment, and public nuisance.
The complaints focus heavily on minors, but the Iowa petition also alleges risks to other users. The claims and their scope differ by state.
What Iowa and Arkansas seek
The requested remedies also vary. Iowa seeks penalties and consumer reimbursement or disgorgement, data-related orders, and age-verification and notice-and-consent conditions on collecting and selling sensitive personal information. Its petition also asks for third-party-verified safeguards before further advanced-model testing.
Arkansas seeks risk disclosures, restrictions on collecting minors’ data, limits on advanced-model testing until safeguards are in place, restitution, and civil penalties. These requests belong to Arkansas’s case; they are not a shared remedy list for all eight states.
OpenAI’s response
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said on October 14 that the company has age-specific protections, including parental controls, break reminders, and age-appropriate model protections. He also said OpenAI would work with states on policies for the AI industry.
