OpenAI faces investigation from state attorneys general

<p id="speakable-summary" class="wp-block-paragraph">A coalition of state attorneys general has reportedly opened an investigation into OpenAI.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The company was <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/openai-investigated-by-coalition-of-state-attorneys-general-088a3928?st=MTfREr&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink">served with a subpoena from New York’s attorney general on Friday</a>, according to The Wall Street Journal. That subpoena sought documents related to a broad range of topics including the company’s advertising, user engagement and retention, model sycophancy, handling of consumer data and health data, and treatment of minors and seniors.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">TechCrunch has reached out to OpenAI and the New York attorney general’s office for confirmation. A company spokesperson told the WSJ that OpenAI is cooperating with the investigation.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“AI is a new and powerful technology, and we work every day to safely bring its benefits to people in a responsible way,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We take the concerns raised by state attorneys general seriously and intend to engage constructively with their offices.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-13/openai-probed-by-coalition-of-state-attorneys-general?embedded-checkout=true">According to Bloomberg</a>, the spokesperson also said that ChatGPT now “includes a more protective experience for minors and people experiencing difficult situations, with safeguards that direct them to real-world resources and trusted human contacts.” The company declined to specify which states are involved in the investigation or to share more details about what information was requested.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">OpenAI recently <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/18/elon-musk-has-lost-his-lawsuit-against-sam-altman-and-openai/">defeated its co-founder Elon Musk</a> in a high-profile trial, after Musk accused the company of violating its founding agreement. (Musk’s lead attorney said he will appeal the decision.)</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">However, OpenAI still faces lawsuits over everything from <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/16/merriam-webster-openai-encyclopedia-brittanica-lawsuit/">alleged copyright infringement</a> to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/07/seven-more-families-are-now-suing-openai-over-chatgpts-role-in-suicides-delusions/">ChatGPT’s alleged role in suicide</a>. Earlier this month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/01/florida-sues-openai-sam-altman-in-first-of-its-kind-lawsuit-over-violent-incidents/">sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman</a>, claiming that OpenAI and Altman “ignored internal and external safety warnings, put children at great risk, and allowed a dangerous product to reach millions of Floridians.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Altman recently <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/25/openai-ceo-apologizes-to-tumbler-ridge-community/">apologized to the community of Tumbler Ridge, Canada</a> after a mass shooting; he acknowledged that OpenAI failed to alert law enforcement after the company flagged and banned the suspected shooter’s ChatGPT account.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The company announced this week that it has <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/08/following-anthropic-openai-files-confidentially-for-ipo/">filed confidentially to go public</a>.</p>