Ultimate Guide for OpenAI Whistleblowers

Learn What You Need to Know About Serving as an OpenAI Whistleblower

While Suchir Balaji’s death made national headlines, the former OpenAI researcher wasn’t the first person to raise concerns about the company’s business practices. The company has also faced scrutiny from federal authorities, and it is facing multiple lawsuits in federal court.

If you are interested in blowing the whistle on OpenAI, we want to hear from you. Oberheiden P.C. is a federal whistleblower law firm that has extensive experience helping individuals expose fraud, waste, abuse, and other unlawful business practices. Our lawyers—many of whom are former federal prosecutors—are committed to helping whistleblowers come forward, and our team also includes former federal agents who have extensive experience conducting investigations into all types of unlawful practices.

Examples of Potential Whistleblower Allegations

Broadly, whistleblowers can report a wide range of statutory and regulatory violations to federal authorities. This is not specific to OpenAI. Several federal agencies have whistleblower programs, and whistleblowers who come forward through the appropriate channels are entitled to stringent protections. Multiple federal laws protect whistleblowers’ identities, and these laws also strictly prohibit companies from retaliating against whistleblowers whose identities come to light.

So, when can you serve as a federal whistleblower as a current or former employee of OpenAI?

Current and former artificial intelligence researchers and other personnel can blow the whistle on all forms of fraud as well as other violations of federal law. Like other companies, OpenAI is subject to the oversight of numerous federal authorities. These include (but are not limited to):

• U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) (due to OpenAI’s defense contracts)
• U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

These authorities (among others) enforce an extremely broad range of federal statutes and regulations; and, while they have substantial enforcement resources, they still rely heavily on whistleblowers to come forward. As a result, if you believe that you have information that may warrant federal enforcement action against OpenAI, we strongly encourage you to speak with one of our federal whistleblower lawyers in confidence as soon as possible.

As we said above, OpenAI has already faced a range of allegations—not only from Suchir Balaji, but from other individuals and entities as well. These entities include The New York Times and other major publishers, among others. Some examples of the allegations asserted against OpenAI to date include:

Copyright Law Violations (Copyright Infringement)

OpenAI is facing ongoing litigation involving allegations that its artificial general intelligence platform fundamentally relies on the infringement of copyrighted works. While some information about the company’s processes has come to light through the litigation process, much remains unknown to the public at this stage.

A lawsuit brought by The New York Times and other publishers seeks to call the commercial viability of ChatGPT into question. While OpenAI is fighting the Times’ lawsuit on “fair use” and other grounds, it has also entered into license agreements with the Associated Press and other parties. Along with U.S. Copyright principles, ChatGPT’s nature raises questions under related international copyright principles as well. According to the Times’ lawyers and other plaintiffs’ legal counsel, OpenAI’s willful copyright infringement provides clear grounds not only for enjoining its use of copyrighted but publicly available data as “training” material, but for imposing substantial liability as well.

Unfair Use of “Training” Data

Along with allegations of copyright infringement, OpenAI has also faced allegations that its use of “training” data is unfair in various other respects. These allegations largely (but not exclusively) focus on the potential impact of the company’s AI systems on human content creators—who can not only find their content being used as “training” material without their authorization, but who can also face competition from ChatGPT and other AI platforms. When a company uses third parties’ intellectual property to compete with these third parties or otherwise impair their commercial prospects, this alone raises serious questions about the legality of the company’s practices and its potential liability.  

Improper Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs)

At least one OpenAI whistleblower has alleged that the company’s use of non-disclosure agreements violates the law in various ways. As reported by the Washington Post, a whistleblower complaint filed with the SEC alleges that the company has engaged in unlawful practices including:

• Requiring employees to sign non-disparagement clauses that fail to exempt disclosures of securities law violations to the SEC;
• Requiring employees to obtain the company’s consent before disclosing confidential information to federal authorities; and,
• Requiring employees to waive their right to whistleblower compensation.

Each of these, if substantiated, represents a clear violation of federal law—and these are examples of the types of issues that federal authorities like the SEC rely on whistleblowers to expose. If you have questions about whether information you have in your possession warrants filing a whistleblower complaint with the SEC or any other federal authority, our lawyers can meet with you in strict confidence and walk you through everything you need to know.

Misleading the Public About the Company’s Intentions

Open AI has also faced allegations from multiple parties that it has misled the public about its intentions with creating and rapidly developing ChatGPT. While Sam Altman and OpenAI originally stated that the company’s mission was focused on the public good, it has since skewed heavily toward monetization and profitability. If OpenAI intentionally misled the AI research community, prospective investors, and the public at large, this is also a serious matter that warrants appropriate legal action.

It is important to emphasize that these are only allegations at this stage. It is also important to emphasize that these are not the only potential allegations against OpenAI or any other company involved in developing or using artificial intelligence. If you are interested in speaking with a whistleblower lawyer about any information you have in your possession, we strongly encourage you to schedule a free and confidential consultation at Oberheiden P.C.

While not specific to any known allegations against OpenAI to date, some examples of other potential grounds for filing a federal whistleblower complaint include:

• Antitrust violations
• Consumer protection violations
• Data import/export violations
• Data security violations
• Government contract fraud
• Securities violations
• Tax evasion and tax fraud

As a company that accepts outside investment, that has substantial government contracts, that operates across borders, and that relies heavily on content created by unrelated parties, OpenAI is subject to (or at least arguably subject to) numerous federal laws and regulations that do not apply to most other companies. At the same time, OpenAI is also subject to the antitrust laws, securities laws, and tax laws that apply to all companies regardless of their scope, their size, and the nature of their operations. Current and former employees (and other individuals) can—and should—report all forms of wrongdoing, and our whistleblower lawyers are available to help.

New York Times Article Reports Suspected Evidence of Foul Play After OpenAI Researcher Found Dead

While many current and former OpenAI employees were already well aware of Suchir Balaji’s efforts to come forward, many of the allegations against the company only came into the public spotlight following news coverage of the incredibly sad news of Balaji’s death. News articles reported that Balaji alleged several forms of wrongdoing by the company; and, when Balaji died while his allegations were the subject of ongoing litigation against the company, many people questioned whether Suchir’s contributions to the litigation may have played a role in his death.

After police found Balaji in his San Francisco apartment, the medical examiner’s office determined his cause of death to be suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. However, Balaji’s parents subsequently hired a private investigator who raised questions about this determination, and a private autopsy called the medical examiner’s official findings into question as well. At the time of writing Balaji’s mother and father continue to search for answers regarding the cause of their son’s death.

Understanding Your Legal Rights as a Federally Protected Whistleblower

As we said above, individuals who qualify as whistleblowers under federal law are entitled to stringent protections. Whistleblowers who report certain forms of fraud can become entitled to financial rewards as well. If you decide to come forward, here are some key facts about the legal rights you will have as a federal whistleblower:

• Federal Whistleblowers Are Entitled to Confidentiality – Individuals who meet the requirements to qualify as a federal whistleblower are entitled to confidentiality. The federal government is prohibited from disclosing whistleblowers’ identities except in extremely limited circumstances.
• Some Federal Whistleblowers Are Entitled to Anonymity – The SEC allows whistleblowers to come forward anonymously and still establish their eligibility for both protection and compensation under federal law. However, whistleblowers who choose to remain anonymous are required to have legal representation.
• Some Federal Whistleblowers Are Entitled to Financial Rewards – Various federal whistleblower programs include provisions for whistleblowers to receive financial rewards if their complaints lead to successful enforcement actions. These include (but are not limited to) the SEC’s whistleblower program and all whistleblower complaints falling under the False Claims Act (including, but not limited to, complaints involving government contract fraud).
• Federal Law Prohibits Retaliation Against Protected Whistleblowers – If you engage an experienced federal whistleblower lawyer to assist you with coming forward and you do your part to protect your confidentiality (or anonymity), it is unlikely that OpenAI will discern your identity. However, if it does discern your identity, it will be strictly prohibited from retaliating against you under federal law.
• You Can Hire a Federal Whistleblower Lawyer at No Out-of-Pocket Cost – Our lawyers represent whistleblowers at no out-of-pocket cost. We will help you make an informed decision about whether to come forward; and, if you decide to come forward, our legal fees will be deducted from your whistleblower reward if you receive one. Otherwise, you owe us nothing.

How do you qualify as a federal whistleblower? While there are varying requirements under each of the whistleblower programs that exist within the federal government, one uniform requirement is the obligation to present unique and relevant documents supporting allegations that are not yet known to the government. This is commonly referred to as the “first to file” rule. However, there are exceptions, and current and former employees can qualify for whistleblower protection when coming forward with additional information that supports previously-filed allegations in some cases.

If you are thinking about serving as an OpenAI whistleblower, you should protect the data you currently have in your possession, but you should be careful about pulling data from OpenAI’s servers at this stage. You should not make any public disclosures on the Internet or otherwise. If you do, this could trigger an internal investigation that comprises the government’s ability to pursue accountability, and it could potentially prevent you from securing protected whistleblower status.

About the Federal Whistleblower Lawyers at Oberheiden P.C.

Our federal whistleblower lawyers are available to represent AI researchers, computer science engineers, and all other individuals who qualify to report fraud or other unlawful conduct to the federal government. Here are some key facts about our law firm:

• We Are a Team of Highly Experienced Lawyers (Including Former Federal Prosecutors) – We are a team of highly experienced lawyers that has grown gradually over the past decade. Today, our team includes multiple former federal prosecutors who have extensive experience holding large companies accountable.
• We Have Extensive Experience Representing Federal Whistleblowers – We have extensive experience representing federal whistleblowers in cases involving numerous forms of fraud, waste, abuse, and other wrongdoing. We are intimately familiar with the federal whistleblower process, and we can confidently guide you forward.
• We Are Committed to Protecting Whistleblowers By All Means Available – As our client, we will work to ensure that your identity remains protected by all means available. This includes, but is not limited to, communicating directly with federal authorities on your behalf.
• We Can Arrange for You to Speak with One of Our Lawyers As Soon As Possible – If you want to come forward quickly, we can arrange for you to speak with one of our lawyers in strict confidence as soon as possible. We can file your whistleblower complaint immediately if necessary.
• We Will Help You Make Informed Decisions Throughout the Process – From helping you decide whether to come forward to helping you make decisions when working with the government (if you decide to come forward), our lawyers will provide personalized advice every step of the way.

Again, it costs nothing out-of-pocket to engage our firm; and, if you have questions about blowing the whistle on OpenAI, we strongly encourage you to get in touch. Our lawyers make themselves available to speak with prospective whistleblowers 24/7.

FAQs: Serving as an OpenAI Whistleblower

Speak with a Federal Whistleblower Lawyer in Strict Confidence

If you would like to speak with a lawyer about blowing the whistle on OpenAI, we invite you to get in touch. To speak with an experienced federal whistleblower lawyer at Oberheiden P.C. in strict confidence, call 888-680-1745 or tell us how we can reach you online now.