OpenAI no longer forced to save deleted chats—but some users still affected

Moving forward, all of the deleted and temporary chats that were previously saved under the preservation order will continue to be accessible to news plaintiffs, who are looking for examples of outputs infringing their articles or attributing misinformation to their publications.

Additionally, OpenAI will continue monitoring certain ChatGPT accounts, saving deleted and temporary chats of any users whose domains have been flagged by news organizations since they began searching through the data. If news plaintiffs flag additional domains during future meetings with OpenAI, more accounts could be roped in.

Ars could not immediately reach OpenAI or the Times’ legal team for comment.

The dispute with news plaintiffs continues to heat up beyond the battle over user logs, most recently with co-defendant Microsoft pushing to keep its AI companion Copilot out of the litigation.

The stakes remain high for both sides. News organizations have alleged that ChatGPT and other allegedly copyright-infringing tools threaten to replace them in their market while potentially damaging their reputations by attributing false information to them.

OpenAI may be increasingly pressured to settle the lawsuit, and not by news organizations but by insurance companies that won’t provide comprehensive coverage for their AI products with multiple potentially multibillion-dollar lawsuits pending.