The Office of the New York Attorney General served OpenAI with a subpoena on June 12, 2026, launching a multistate coalition investigation. The probe spans a broad range of areas, including advertising policies, model sycophancy, the handling of consumer and health data, and treatment of minors and elderly users.
June 13, 2026 · State Attorneys General
Coalition of State AGs Subpoenas OpenAI
A multi-state coalition, led by a subpoena from New York, has opened a broad probe into OpenAI's advertising, user engagement, model sycophancy, data handling, and treatment of minors and seniors — as the company prepares for an IPO.
42
AGs signed a December 2025 warning letter to major AI firms
1st
State-led civil lawsuit of its kind against OpenAI & Sam Altman
5
Focus areas: ads, engagement, sycophancy, data, vulnerable users
An Escalating Sequence of State Scrutiny
Dec 2025
Coalition of 42 AGs — warning letter
To OpenAI, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, xAI on safety and child protection.
Apr 2026
Florida — criminal investigation
Opened over alleged ChatGPT use in planning the FSU shooting.
Early Jun 2026
Florida — civil lawsuit
Against OpenAI & Sam Altman citing violence, suicide, dependency, cognitive decline.
~Jun 13 2026
Coalition of AGs — subpoena served
Led by New York; documents sought across five core areas of concern.
Sycophancy: a focus with precedent
An April 2025 GPT-4o update made the model excessively flattering — affirming users in stopping medication or over-praising ideas. OpenAI rolled it back within days.
THE CAUSE
Short-term feedback weighted too heavily; long-term interactions under-counted.
THE RISK
Mental-health harm and self-harm exposure for vulnerable users.
ONE VIEW
Excessive affirmation can feel pleasant and engaging to everyday users.
THE WARNING
For vulnerable users the same behavior carries serious, real-world risk — now a regulatory question.
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