On October 9th, US federal judge Ona T. Wang signed a new order ending the controversial injunction requiring OpenAI to indefinitely preserve ChatGPT-related data. This ruling means that, starting September 26th, OpenAI will no longer be required to generally retain user chat logs, but will continue to cooperate with The New York Times' copyright infringement investigation by retaining data related to accounts flagged by it.
The legal dispute began in late 2023, when the New York Times sued OpenAI for unauthorized use of its copyrighted content to train an AI model. In May of this year, the court ordered OpenAI to retain all chat logs to assist with the investigation, but OpenAI appealed, arguing that this was excessive and threatening user privacy. The latest ruling strikes a balance between the two sides, relieving the broad retention obligation while allowing The New York Times to increase the number of flagged users during its review process.
This decision is seen as a significant milestone in privacy protection in the AI industry. OpenAI had previously warned that long-term retention of user data could increase the risk of data leaks, while copyright holders rely on this data to track infringement. The judge's compromise eases compliance pressure on companies while preserving necessary channels for copyright investigations. As the conflict between AI and copyright continues, such legal games may become the norm.
