Common Sense Media has classified OpenAI’s teen-focused version of ChatGPT as an “unacceptable risk” following a detailed assessment of its safety features.
Launched in August, ChatGPT for Teens is designed to assist students with learning while implementing specific guardrails for younger users. However, Common Sense Media argues that these protections “fall short of what the company promised.” The assessment identified critical gaps, noting that the platform “doesn’t send alerts to parents when it should,” fails to provide adequate help in crisis situations, and still aids in homework assignments.
“ChatGPT for Teens could give parents false confidence in guardrails and safety alerts that frequently don’t work,” warned Tom Siegel, executive director of the Youth AI Safety Institute. He highlighted a specific danger where a teen could discuss self-harm for an hour without notifying their parent. Siegel stated, “Until OpenAI fixes that and proves it with independent testing, ChatGPT should be for adults only.”
OpenAI pushed back against these findings, issuing a statement from spokesperson Eric Porterfield. The company expressed a deep commitment to teen safety and rigorous independent evaluation but disputed Common Sense Media's methodology. OpenAI claimed their testing may have concluded before parental controls were fully activated, potentially rendering the results inaccurate.
In response to OpenAI’s rebuttal, Tom Siegel reaffirmed their stance. He clarified that while some activation delays exist, the testing spanned a long enough period to reveal that parental alerts remain “unreliable for crisis situations.” Siegel urged OpenAI to address the product’s flaws rather than focusing on questioning the evaluation process.
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