OpenAI Inc. urged a New York federal judge to unwind a “sweeping, unprecedented order” to preserve data for several copyright suits that it argued threatens privacy rights of hundreds of millions of users.
Privacy Concerns Raised by OpenAI
Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang’s order to “preserve and segregate all output log data” forces OpenAI to rescind users' control over when and how their ChatGPT conversation data is used and retained, it said in a Tuesday filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The artificial intelligence company quoted the editorial board of The New York Times—one of dozens of plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation—as saying Americans “should be able to control what happens to their personal data.”
Legal Battle Over Privacy Rights
The request that Judge Sidney H. Stein override Wang’s preservation order represents a front in the broader fight over discovery in the litigation over novel questions about applying copyright law to AI.
The 12 cases consolidated for pretrial purposes carry massive ramifications for both the burgeoning technology and an array of content industries.
OpenAI's Arguments
OpenAI’s Tuesday filing countered that the outlets failed to provide any non-speculative basis for the order being useful, much less a substantial one as required.
Users ask ChatGPT for help in highly sensitive areas like personal finances, household budgets, personal relationships including wedding vows and gift ideas, and business trade secrets and other confidential information.
OpenAI said it’s earned trust through its commitment to data security and privacy.
Conclusion
In one swoop, the preservation order jettisoned OpenAI's commitment in favor of News Plaintiffs' unsupported speculation, despite the dearth of any record evidence suggesting that doing so would serve a useful purpose. The AI company also requested oral argument on its request in a letter to Stein accompanying its memo.
