ChatGPT for Teens deemed to pose unacceptable risk
US non-profit Common Sense Media’s Youth AI Safety Institute declared OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Teens an “unacceptable risk” and called for the company to halt access for users aged under 18-years until safeguards are independently tested and improved.
The institute tested more than 4,000 prompts across ChatGPT accounts registered to users aged 13 to 17 years-old before and after the teen-focused service launched in August.
Although some safeguards including the chatbot’s refusal to engage in explicit sexual roleplay functioned as expected, several other protections failed to operate.
“We call on OpenAI to pause marketing the product and to keep teens off of ChatGPT until it can offer a safe, developmentally appropriate experience,” the institute stated.
The biggest concern were parental notifications. In dedicated tests, parent-linked accounts generated no alerts during conversations involving high-risk topics including suicide, self-harm or eating disorders, including sessions lasting up to an hour. Broader testing triggered four notifications which only appeared on older accounts with weeks of sensitive history, with some arriving hours or days after crisis-level disclosures.
In addition, ChatGPT for Teens did not reliably refer high-risk accounts to a crisis hotline or professional help. The AI chatbot missed more than one-in-four situations where a crisis referral was warranted, falling below its 95% threshold in three-of-five severe harm categories.
The institute further claimed OpenAI’s age estimation technology repeatedly failed to shift adult-registered test accounts into the teen experience. It also found ChatGPT continued to use language which “simulates preferences and feelings, validates and engages, and continues engagement”, despite the AI company’s updated guidelines for those aged under 18-years.
Mental health
The AI player introduced parental controls and safety notifications to ChatGPT in 2025, stating its systems could identify potential signs of self-harm and alert parents in cases of acute distress.
ChatGPT For Teens emphasised learning, age-appropriate safeguards and parental controls designed to limit exposure to sensitive content.
OpenAI has been hit with a number of lawsuits from parents across the US alleging its chatbot encouraged at-risk teenagers to engage in self-harm, suicide or violent crimes.
In 2025, the US Federal Trade Commission reportedly launched an investigation into OpenAI, Meta Platforms and Character.AI over concerns chatbots were affecting children’s mental health.
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