OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced new safeguards aimed at protecting minors on ChatGPT. “Safety comes first for teens,” Altman said, unveiling policies that limit conversations around sexual topics and self-harm. The chatbot will no longer engage in flirtatious talk with underage users and will add stronger guardrails around suicidal content. In urgent cases, OpenAI may alert parents or even contact local authorities.
The changes arrive as the company faces a wrongful death lawsuit from the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who died by suicide after months of chats with ChatGPT. Parents can now set “blackout hours” to restrict use—another first for the platform.
These updates coincide with a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the risks of AI chatbots, underscoring rising concern over how powerful conversational AI interacts with minors.
