OpenAI sued over query leaks

Amargo Couture sued OpenAI Global, LLC on May 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, alleging ChatGPT.com disclosed users’ query information to Meta and Google through embedded tracking tools. The proposed class action says OpenAI used Meta’s Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics on the site and transmitted information tied to users’ prompts without consent. (ppc.land) The complaint says users entered questions about health, finances and other private matters into ChatGPT during 2025 and 2026. OpenAI had not publicly responded in the court docket surfaced by Justia as of the filing date. ### Which case is this, and who filed it? (dockets.justia.com) The case is Couture v. OpenAI Global, LLC, case number 3:26-cv-03000-H-GC, filed May 13, 2026, according to the federal court docket. The plaintiff is Amargo Couture, a San Diego resident, and the complaint seeks to represent U.S. residents who accessed ChatGPT.com and entered queries into the service. Bursor & Fisher lawyers Philip Fraietta, Max Roberts and Joshua Wilner are listed for the plaintiff in the docket. Judge Marilyn L. Huff and Magistrate Judge Guillermo Cabrera were assigned to the case, the docket shows. (ppc.land) ### What does the complaint say OpenAI disclosed? The complaint says OpenAI incorporated third-party technology from Meta and Google into ChatGPT.com and, through that code, disclosed information users provided on the site. It says ChatGPT is used for “sensitive and personal topics” including finances, health and legal issues, and alleges those disclosures occurred despite what the plaintiff describes as users’ reasonable expectation of privacy. (dockets.justia.com) TV News Check and MediaPost reported that the suit points to pageview and analytics scripts that allegedly leaked query strings to Meta and Google. Those reports said the lawsuit focuses on tracking code operating on ChatGPT.com rather than on model training or output generation. (dockets.justia.com) ### Why do Meta and Google appear in the case? Meta Platforms, Inc. and Google, LLC are not named as defendants in the caption shown in the complaint excerpt and docket, but they are named in the pleading as the third parties that allegedly received the information. The complaint says Couture had active Facebook and Google accounts and was routinely logged in while using the same browser to access ChatGPT.com. (ppc.land) That detail matters because the plaintiff’s theory is that browser-based tracking tools could connect prompt-related information to existing advertising or analytics identifiers. The complaint alleges OpenAI disclosed information to those companies “without consent.” (mediapost.com) ### What laws does the suit invoke? The May 13 complaint cites the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Sections 631 and 632 of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, and privacy claims under the California Constitution and common law. The suit was filed as a class action and demands a jury trial. (ppc.land) The filing is an allegation, not a finding of fact or liability. The Justia docket notes that docket entries and filings should not be treated as findings by the court. ### How does this fit with OpenAI’s other court fights? (ppc.land) Bloomberg Law reported on May 18 that OpenAI, in a separate case in Illinois brought by Nippon Life Insurance Company of America, argued ChatGPT is “not a ‘person,’ but a tool” and “incapable of practicing law” under the statute at issue there. That case concerns alleged legal misuse of ChatGPT, not website tracking, but it shows OpenAI defending the service’s legal status in multiple courts at once. (ppc.land) The Illinois case was filed in March, Bloomberg Law reported, and OpenAI’s dismissal motion said making a general-purpose tool available to the public is not aiding and abetting wrongdoing. (dockets.justia.com) ### What happens next in the California case? The Southern District of California docket shows the complaint and summons were entered on May 13. The next public steps are likely service, an appearance by OpenAI, and a response to the complaint or a motion challenging it, which would appear on the court docket. (news.bloomberglaw.com) PACER and the Southern District of California docket will show the next filings in Couture v. OpenAI Global, LLC. Judge Huff and Magistrate Judge Cabrera remain the assigned judges on the case. (dockets.justia.com) (news.bloomberglaw.com)