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OpenAI Ordered to Turn Over Millions of ChatGPT Records in Ongoing Copyright Battle

By  |  December 4, 2025

OpenAI has been directed to provide millions of anonymized ChatGPT logs in a copyright case brought by the New York Times and other media organizations. According to a statement contained in a court filing, a federal judge in Manhattan determined that roughly 20 million chat records are relevant to the publishers’ claims and can be turned over without compromising individual privacy.

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    The ruling, issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona Wang and made public Wednesday, rejects OpenAI’s argument that disclosing the data would expose sensitive information. Per a statement in the decision, Judge Wang emphasized that “There are multiple layers of protection in this case precisely because of the highly sensitive and private nature of much of the discovery,” concluding that the records should still be produced.

    OpenAI has pushed back against the order, including an appeal to U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein. A spokesperson pointed to an earlier blog post from Chief Information Security Officer Dane Stuckey, which argued that the request “disregards long-standing privacy protections” and “breaks with common-sense security practices.”

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    The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed by the Times in 2023, accusing OpenAI of using copyrighted journalism to build its artificial intelligence tools without permission. Additional newsrooms, including those owned by Alden Global Capital’s MediaNews Group, are participating in the case. MediaNews Group executive editor Frank Pine said in a statement that OpenAI’s leadership was “hallucinating when they thought they could get away with withholding evidence about how their business model relies on stealing from hardworking journalists.”

    The publishers contend the logs are necessary to determine whether the AI system reproduced protected articles and to counter OpenAI’s claim that their legal team manipulated the chatbot to create infringing responses. According to a statement referenced in the filings, OpenAI has asserted that “99.99%” of the chats have no connection to the allegations.

    Judge Wang’s order requires the company to remove identifying details before supplying the material and noted again on Wednesday that OpenAI’s de-identification process would “reasonably mitigate associated privacy concerns.” The court has given the company seven days to comply once that step is completed.

    Source: Reuters