{"schema":"postcutoff/event@1","as_of":"2026-10-14T00:22:00+02:00","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-10-13-doe-v-openai-minors-data-class-action/","md":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-10-13-doe-v-openai-minors-data-class-action/index.md","disclosure":{"written_by":"AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code)","editor":"human editor","policy":"https://postcutoff.com/about/"},"license":null,"id":"2026-10-13-doe-v-openai-minors-data-class-action","date":"2026-10-13","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Class action accuses OpenAI of taking minors' data without parental consent","deck":null,"takeaway":null,"category":"policy-safety","category_label":"Policy & safety","importance":2,"confidence":"medium","status":{"key":"partly","labels":["Partly confirmed"]},"sources":[{"n":1,"title":"Bloomberg Law: OpenAI accused of taking minors' data without parental consent","url":"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/openai-accused-of-taking-minors-data-without-parental-consent","type":"press","group":"press","domain":"news.bloomberglaw.com"}],"official":0,"filed":"2026-10-13","updated":"2026-10-13","orgs":["OpenAI"],"title":"Class action Doe v. OpenAI Foundation: ChatGPT accused of taking children's data without parental consent; plaintiffs ask for OpenAI equity for affected children","summary":"On Oct 13, 2026 a proposed nationwide class action, Doe v. OpenAI Foundation (N.D. Cal., No. 3:26-cv-11781), was filed in San Francisco federal court. It alleges that ChatGPT took sensitive data from millions of children who signed up without parental consent and used it to train models and build profiles. In an unusual request, it asks that children whose data was used in training receive a proportionate share of OpenAI equity or its cash value. Known from Bloomberg Law's report; the complaint itself was not read and OpenAI's response is not known.","key_facts":["Case: Doe v. OpenAI Foundation, US District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3:26-cv-11781, filed Oct 13, 2026 (Bloomberg Law)","Allegation: OpenAI designed ChatGPT to lead children to trust the chatbot and share highly personal information and health data. Complaint: 'It then used that priceless trove of children's information to train large language models, build detailed profiles of children, and enrich itself. All of this was illegal.'","Remedy sought: class certification for users who were minors when they used ChatGPT, and that 'all children whose data has been used to train the company's AI models be given a proportionate amount of OpenAI equity or an equivalent in cash' (Bloomberg Law's wording). Complaint: 'OpenAI has touted its desire to share with the public some of the vast wealth created by its AI models. This lawsuit provides OpenAI a chance to do so.'","Age checks: OpenAI's terms bar users under 13 and require parental consent under 18, but per the complaint a new user only has to enter an age above 13","One plaintiff, under a pseudonym, was 12 when she opened an account in 2026; the complaint says the chatbot asked her age and did not end the conversation when she said she had just turned 12, and that she later sent selfies and asked it to rate her looks","ChatGPT for Teens (launched summer 2026): the complaint says these accounts lack sufficient safeguards and by default retain and train on what users enter","Plaintiffs' firms: Yetter Coleman LLP, Sheeren Law PLLC, EdTech Law Center PLLC and Umberg Zipser LLP","These are allegations in a newly filed complaint; no court has ruled on them"],"key_numbers":[],"tags":["lawsuit","class-action","children","privacy","training-data","chatgpt","chatgpt-for-teens","age-verification","openai"],"science":null,"body_md":"## What happened\n\nA proposed class action filed on Oct 13, 2026 in San Francisco federal court accuses OpenAI of collecting sensitive data from\nchildren who used ChatGPT without parental consent and of using it to train its models. The plaintiffs say the sign-up flow\nasks only for a self-declared age, and that the teen accounts introduced in the summer of 2026 keep and train on user data by\ndefault. One plaintiff was 12 when she signed up.\n\nThe complaint asks the court to certify a nationwide class of people who used ChatGPT as minors. It also asks for something\nrarely seen in privacy cases: a proportionate share of OpenAI's equity, or the cash equivalent, for children whose data went\ninto model training. Bloomberg Law notes that OpenAI is valued at up to $1.4 trillion.\n\n## Why it matters\n\nEarlier suits over children and chatbots centred on harm from conversations. This one targets the training data itself and\nasks for a share of the company as compensation. It also tests whether self-declared age at sign-up is enough under US\nchildren's privacy law.\n\nNot verified: the complaint was not read directly (facts are from Bloomberg Law), the legal claims pleaded are not listed here\nfor that reason, and no response from OpenAI was found.","disputed":[],"related":[{"id":"2026-10-07-common-sense-media-chatgpt-for-teens-unacceptable-risk","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-10-07-common-sense-media-chatgpt-for-teens-unacceptable-risk/","date":"2026-10-07","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Common Sense Media rates OpenAI's ChatGPT for Teens an 'Unacceptable Risk' and urges OpenAI to keep under-18s off ChatGPT","deck":null,"takeaway":"ChatGPT is the chatbot teens use most: 40% of 9- to 17-year-olds name it in the Institute's 2026 AI Census.","category":"policy-safety","category_label":"Policy & safety","importance":3,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":18,"official":6,"filed":"2026-10-07","updated":"2026-10-09","orgs":["Common Sense Media","OpenAI"]},{"id":"2026-08-18-openai-chatgpt-for-teens","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-08-18-openai-chatgpt-for-teens/","date":"2026-08-18","date_precision":"day","short_title":"OpenAI launches 'ChatGPT for Teens' with age assurance, quiet hours and stricter content rules","deck":null,"takeaway":"It is the largest consumer chatbot's main response to the teen-safety lawsuits and regulatory pressure of 2025–26, and it uses automated age estimation at very large scale, which raises privacy and accuracy questions.","category":"product","category_label":"Products","importance":3,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":7,"official":2,"filed":"2026-10-01","updated":"2026-10-07","orgs":["OpenAI"]}],"people":[],"posts":[],"videos":[],"models":[],"changes":[{"date":"2026-10-13","type":"filed","text":"Created (from Bloomberg Law)"}],"provenance":{"agents":[{"model":"Claude Opus 5.5","maker":"Anthropic","tool":"Claude Code"}],"filed":"2026-10-13","run":null,"sources_read":"Bloomberg Law","updated":"2026-10-13","human_review":null,"version":{"date":"2026-10-13"}},"gaps":[{"model_id":"gpt-6-astra","name":"GPT-6 Astra","cutoff":"2026-04","days_after":166,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"claude-opus-5-5","name":"Claude Opus 5.5","cutoff":"2026-06","days_after":105,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"gemini-4-argon","name":"Gemini 4 Argon","cutoff":"2026-03","days_after":196,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"grok-4-7","name":"Grok 4.7","cutoff":"2026-05","days_after":135,"in_training_data":false}],"short_url":null}