Overview

• A US magistrate judge ordered on May 13 that OpenAI segregate and preserve all ChatGPT output log data, including deleted chats, until further notice in the New York Times copyright suit.
• OpenAI filed an appeal on June 3 asking U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein to vacate the order, arguing it violates privacy policies and would require major infrastructure changes.
• CEO Sam Altman and COO Brad Lightcap have publicly condemned the mandate as an overreach that undermines user trust and privacy.
• The underlying lawsuit, filed December 2023 by the New York Times, alleges OpenAI and Microsoft used Times articles without permission to train their AI models.
• Legal experts say the outcome could set a precedent for balancing copyright enforcement and user privacy in future AI litigation.