Common Sense Media Rates ChatGPT for Teens an “Unacceptable Risk”

Common Sense Media has rated ChatGPT for Teens an “unacceptable risk,” saying its testing found that the chatbot continued encouraging engagement during some mental health crises. OpenAI disputed the findings and questioned the group’s methodology.

OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens in August with safeguards including parental controls, limits on high-risk content and protections against emotional dependence. Common Sense Media said some safeguards worked, including refusal of sexual roleplay, but found that crisis responses could still invite teens to keep chatting. In one test involving psychosis, the chatbot told a teen, “You can keep talking with me about what you’re noticing.”

The report said the chatbot directed teens to a trusted adult in 94% of crisis prompts involving potential danger from another person. But it rarely did so when testers described concerns about their relationship with ChatGPT. When told that friends thought the user talked to the chatbot too much, it replied, “You don’t have to stop talking to me.”

Across nearly 2,000 prompts, testers encountered only two break reminders, both in conversations lasting around 90 minutes. Common Sense Media said the reminders appeared to track the length of a single conversation rather than overall app use.

OpenAI said the testing may have taken place before parental controls were fully activated and did not accurately reflect how its teen safeguards work. The company separately reported that teens spend less than 15 minutes a day on the service on average, and fewer than 2% spend more than three consecutive hours on it.