Judge denies intention to create 'mass surveillance program' that would affect all ChatGPT users
In response to criticism that the court ordered OpenAI to preserve all ChatGPT logs, including deleted conversations , was trying to create a 'mass surveillance program' that would harm ChatGPT users, the judge who issued the order denied that the order could be interpreted that way.
Judge denies creating “mass surveillance program” harming all ChatGPT users - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/06/judge-rejects-claim-that-forcing-openai-to-keep-chatgpt-logs-is-mass-surveillance/
The issue began when The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement.
Major daily newspaper New York Times sues OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement - GIGAZINE
Regarding the lawsuit, it was found that the deletion of ChatGPT chat logs could lead to the destruction of evidence, and Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang ordered OpenAI to preserve all ChatGPT logs, including conversations that users had deleted.
OpenAI criticized the order, claiming that it puts users' privacy at risk. ChatGPT users also criticized the order, saying that copyright concerns should not be prioritized over privacy.
ChatGPT users appealed the court's order to set aside the case, but Judge Wang rejected it. Aidan Hunt, one of the users who filed the appeal, explained that he occasionally uses ChatGPT and sends sensitive personal and commercial information because the policy states that input information will not be retained. He argued that OpenAI's storage of sensitive information would enable the creation of a 'nationwide mass surveillance program' that could affect and harm all ChatGPT users.
Corinne McSherry of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said Hunt's claims are 'not unfounded concerns. Judge Wang's order sets a precedent for other litigation across the country that poses real risks to user privacy.'
Judge Wang countered that the order only instructs private companies to preserve, isolate and retain certain data for the limited purpose of litigation, and said he did not understand how it could or would lead to a 'nationwide surveillance program.' He said the order could not be interpreted as enabling mass surveillance, and that the court is not a law enforcement agency.
McSherry points out that just as law enforcement and other agencies are already moving to obtain records of search histories and social media posts, it's only a matter of time before OpenAI will be used to obtain chat histories and posts about users for any purpose.
Judge Wang explained that the reason for dismissing the motion was that 'whether OpenAI's temporary storage of certain chat output log data that it routinely deletes during the course of litigation may violate the privacy rights of ChatGPT users is an ancillary issue that is not directly related to the central issue of the litigation regarding copyright infringement.'
Some ChatGPT users have said they were unaware that OpenAI could store the data they entered, as Hunt claims. McSherry said, 'All AI chat apps should not only allow users to confirm that their records have been deleted, but also take steps to immediately notify users when they are asked to provide information they have entered.'
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