OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is facing a class-action lawsuit in the United States over claims that user conversations and personal information were shared with third parties including Meta and Google through online tracking technology. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of California earlier this week. According to the complaint, OpenAI allegedly embedded Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics tracking codes into the ChatGPT website, which then transmitted user data to outside companies in real time.
What the lawsuit against OpenAI says
The lawsuit argues that many users believed their conversations with ChatGPT were private while sharing sensitive personal, financial and medical information with the chatbot. Filed in the name of plaintiff Amargo Couture, it alleges that the tracking technologies allowed information from ChatGPT interactions to be shared without users fully understanding how their data could be collected and processed.
The filing said many people increasingly use AI chatbots such as ChatGPT for personal advice, legal questions, financial discussions and medical concerns. “As such, personal privacy on ChatGPT is an issue with broad implications for individuals’ control of their privacy and personal information,” the complaint stated. The report also mentioned that another proposed class-action lawsuit was filed earlier this year against AI search company Perplexity over similar claims involving tracking tools connected to Meta and Google.
Experts say tracking tools are common online
Cybernews information security researcher Aras Nazarovas said the lawsuit may face challenges because many websites use similar tracking technologies. “Using Google Analytics and Facebook’s tracking pixels is very common across most websites, no matter the industry,” Nazarovas said. “These are industry standard services, even though they’re definitely not very privacy-friendly.” Nazarovas also pointed out that OpenAI’s privacy policy already explains that some user information may be shared with third parties, including advertising partners.
