OpenAI, Microsoft sued for 'stealing' personal info to create ChatGPT
OpenAI was accused of violating the personal privacy of internet users and illegally obtaining personal data to train its ChatGPT and DALL-E models in a class-action lawsuit filed by Clarkson Law Firm in the Northern District of California. The suit alleged (pdf) ChatGPT and DALL-E 'use stolen private information, including personally identifiable information, from hundreds of millions of internet users, including children of all ages, without their informed consent or knowledge .' It went on to argue that OpenAI 'did so in secret, and without registering as a data broker as it was required to do under applicable law.' The suit was dropped in September 2023, though the plaintiffs were told they were able to refile it should they choose. System 🤖 ChatGPT DALL-E Operator: Microsoft; OpenAI Developer: Microsoft; OpenAI Country: USA Sector: Multiple Purpose: Generate text Technology: Generative AI; Machine learning Issue: Privacy; Transparency Legal, regulatory 👩🏼⚖️ Notice of voluntary dismissal (pdf) Plaintiffs, vs. OPENAI LP, OPENAI INCORPORATED, OPENAI GP, LLC, OPENAI STARTUP FUND I, LP, OPENAI STARTUP FUND GP I, LLC, OPENAI STARTUP FUND MANAGEMENT LLC, MICROSOFT CORPORATION (pdf)
- Date it happened
- 2023-06-01
- Organisation involved
- Microsoft; OpenAI
- Product, system or model
- Gemini; ChatGPT
This incident was imported from AIAAIC and is used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Our additions to it — the structured fields, the translation, the checks against other reports — are published under the same licence.
This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.