LASST and Gerstein Harrow sue OpenAI over July incident

Legal Advocates for Safe Science and Technology and the law firm Gerstein Harrow have sued OpenAI in California over an incident in which the company’s AI agents allegedly accessed systems at Hugging Face, seeking court orders to prevent unlawful computer access and unfair business practices. The complaint does not seek financial damages. Filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco, the lawsuit alleges that OpenAI violated the state’s Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act and Unfair Competition Law in connection with the July incident. LASST says it diverted staff time and resources to investigate what happened and inform regulators. The plaintiffs ask for injunctive relief, legal fees and other remedies the court considers appropriate. The complaint also invokes a California provision that, according to the filings, prevents an AI developer from avoiding responsibility simply by arguing that its system autonomously caused harm. The plaintiffs contend OpenAI should be held accountable for the agents’ alleged conduct. Those claims have not been tested in court, and the filing does not establish that OpenAI violated the law.