OpenAI is fighting back The New York Times' data preservation demand

In its ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI, The New York Times has asked the court to force OpenAI to store every piece of ChatGPT user content indefinitely. Why? The New York Times says it might uncover something in that data to support its copyright case. That’s not sitting well with OpenAI.

OpenAI says The New York Times’ demand to preserve ChatGPT data “is an overreach”

Responding to The New York Times’ demand regarding ChatGPT data, OpenAI’s COO, Brad Lightcap, wrote:

This fundamentally conflicts with the privacy commitments we have made to our users. It abandons long-standing privacy norms and weakens privacy protections. We strongly believe this is an overreach by the New York Times. We’re continuing to appeal this order so we can keep putting your trust and privacy first.

Despite disagreeing with the order, OpenAI is legally required to comply—for now. But the company has filed a motion with the Magistrate Judge to reverse it and has escalated the matter to the District Court Judge as well.

Also read: The New York Times Licenses Its Content to Amazon for AI Use

In the meantime, ChatGPT user content that falls under the court’s order will be stored in a separate, secure system. OpenAI says only a small, audited legal and security team will be allowed to access this data, and only when absolutely necessary to meet legal obligations. So, who’s affected—and who’s not

This data retention order covers a wide range of users, including ChatGPT Free, Plus, Pro, and Teams Notably excluded are users of ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu, and API customers using OpenAI’s Zero Data Retention endpoints.

Rishaj Upadhyay

News Editor

Rishaj is a tech writer who has been writing professionally for over four years, with a passion for Android, Windows, and all things tech. He initially joined Windows Report as a tech journalist and is now taking over as a news editor. He also writes for AndroidHeadlines. In the past, he has covered features, guides, and listicles for YTECHB and TechieTechTech. When he’s not breaking the keyboard, you can find him cooking, or listening to music/podcasts.