Key Takeaways
- The New York Times is asking a court to force OpenAI to keep all ChatGPT user data indefinitely as part of an ongoing lawsuit.
- OpenAI argues this demand violates user privacy commitments and industry norms, calling it an “overreach.”
- OpenAI is appealing the court order but must comply in the meantime, storing affected data securely and separately.
- Many ChatGPT users (Free, Plus, Pro, Teams, and some API developers) are affected; Enterprise, Edu, and API users with Zero Data Retention are not.
The legal battle between The New York Times and OpenAI over the use of news articles for training AI has intensified.
The Times is now pushing for a court order that would require OpenAI to retain all ChatGPT user content indefinitely.
Their reasoning is that this vast amount of data might contain evidence relevant to their lawsuit against the AI company.
OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer, Brad Lightcap, has strongly opposed this request. He stated it “fundamentally conflicts with the privacy commitments we have made to our users.”
Lightcap also noted, according to Neowin, that such a demand “abandons long-standing privacy norms and weakens privacy protections,” labeling it an “overreach by the New York Times.”
In response, OpenAI has filed a motion asking the Magistrate Judge to reconsider the preservation order. They’ve also appealed the order with the District Court Judge.
However, until a successful appeal, OpenAI is legally bound to comply with the court’s directive.
The company has confirmed that the content defined by the court order will be stored separately in a secure system.
Access to this data will be restricted to a small, audited OpenAI legal and security team, and only for meeting legal obligations.
This data retention order impacts a significant number of people, as ChatGPT reportedly had over 400 million weekly active users in early 2025.
Users of ChatGPT Free, Plus, Pro, and Teams subscriptions, along with developers using the OpenAI API without a Zero Data Retention agreement, are affected.
Conversely, ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu users, and API customers with Zero Data Retention agreements will not see their data handling change due to this order.
