OpenAI is fighting a court order that it says forces the company to preserve all ChatGPT user logs, including deleted chats and API data, arguing the order is an unprecedented invasion of privacy that breaks its commitments to hundreds of millions of users.

The order, issued May 13 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona Wang in the multidistrict copyright litigation brought by The New York Times and other news organizations, came after the plaintiffs raised concerns that users might delete chats to cover up paywall circumvention. OpenAI says the ruling was premature and based on speculation, not evidence.

In a court filing, OpenAI warns that the order compels it to retain data users explicitly chose to delete, including temporary chats and account deletion requests, violating its privacy policies and potentially exposing sensitive personal and business information. The company says the order imposes a massive engineering burden and puts it at risk of breaching contracts and global privacy regulations.

On Hacker News, where the item has 1,132 points and 932 comments, the thread turns into a debate over the limits of evidence preservation in civil cases. Some commenters argued the order is standard legal procedure, while others warned it sets a dangerous precedent for privacy.