ISLAMABAD: OpenAI has appealed a federal court order requiring it to preserve user-generated ChatGPT output data indefinitely in an ongoing copyright lawsuit filed by The New York Times.
The company argues that the mandate threatens user privacy and sets a troubling legal precedent for data handling in AI services.
The appeal follows a directive issued last month instructing OpenAI to preserve and segregate all output logs after The New York Times requested the data as part of its lawsuit.
In response, OpenAI filed a motion on June 3 to vacate the preservation order, citing a conflict with its longstanding user privacy commitments.
“We will fight any demand that compromises our users’ privacy; this is a core principle,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X. He called the newspaper’s request “an inappropriate demand that sets a bad precedent.”
Legal Battle Over AI Training and Copyright
The legal dispute began in 2023 when The New York Times filed suit against both OpenAI and its strategic partner Microsoft, alleging the unauthorized use of millions of Times articles to train large language models, including the one behind ChatGPT.
The newspaper contends that such use constitutes copyright infringement and that the companies induced users to replicate copyrighted material.
U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein previously ruled that The New York Times had presented a legitimate case, referencing “numerous” and “widely publicized” instances where ChatGPT produced content that closely resembled or replicated Times articles. The judge allowed the claims to proceed, despite partial motions to dismiss from OpenAI and Microsoft.
Privacy Concerns vs. Legal Compliance
The heart of OpenAI’s appeal centers on balancing compliance with the court’s order against safeguarding user privacy. The company maintains that indefinite retention of chat logs may expose personal data and erode user trust—two pillars it says are critical to responsible AI deployment.
As legal proceedings continue, the outcome could have significant implications for the AI industry, particularly around data governance, copyright protections, and privacy rights in AI training and output generation.
