OpenAI secretly funded age verification advocacy group in California

OpenAI has been secretly funding a California advocacy group pushing for age verification requirements for AI systems while hiding its involvement from other organizations in the coalition.

What happened

According to a report from the San Francisco Standard, OpenAI is the primary funder of the Parents and Kids Safe AI Coalition, a group formed to push the Parents and Kids Safe AI Act in California. This legislation would require AI firms to implement age verification and additional safeguards for users under 18.

The Standard characterized the coalition as being "entirely funded" by OpenAI. A Wall Street Journal report from January said OpenAI pledged $10 million to push this specific legislation.

Hidden involvement

When the coalition reached out to child safety groups and other advocacy organizations to gain support for the bill, OpenAI was left off the messaging. The AI company was also omitted from marketing on the coalition's website.

This led to multiple groups and individuals supporting the Parents and Kids Safe AI Coalition without realizing they were aligning with OpenAI. The bill itself was backed by OpenAI in partnership with Common Sense Media as a compromise after the two groups had pushed dueling ballot initiatives last year.

Reactions and implications

"It's a very grimy feeling," an unnamed nonprofit leader told the Standard. "To find out they're trying to sneak around behind the scenes and do something like this — I don't want to say they're outright lying, but they're sending emails that are pretty misleading."

The legislation's age assurance requirements could benefit OpenAI CEO Sam Altman personally, as he heads a company that provides age verification services.