A coalition of 42 state attorneys general has launched a broad investigation into OpenAI, issuing a subpoena that covers a wide range of concerns about how the ChatGPT maker operates, according to Tom's Hardware.
The subpoena targets OpenAI's advertising practices, data handling, how the company treats minors, its handling of health data, user retention tactics, so-called model sycophancy — the tendency of AI chatbots to tell users what they want to hear rather than what is true — and the company's overall safety policies.
The timing is notable. According to Tom's Hardware, the multistate action came just days after OpenAI's reported IPO filing, putting the company under fresh legal and public scrutiny at a moment when it is trying to attract public investors.
WSAV-TV, citing the broader multistate probe, framed the investigation as targeting "possible user harm" — language that suggests the attorneys general are concerned not just with corporate practices but with real-world effects on the people using these tools.
A coalition of 42 states is unusually large for this kind of action, signaling broad, bipartisan concern among state-level law enforcement. Investigations like this can lead to mandatory disclosures, consent decrees, or substantial fines.
The story matters because it represents the most coordinated government scrutiny OpenAI has faced in the United States, arriving precisely as the company seeks the public legitimacy — and capital — that an IPO would provide.