OpenAI has publicly criticized The New York Times over its request to access 20 million ChatGPT user logs as part of a copyright lawsuit, calling the demand an invasion of user privacy. In a statement released Wednesday, Dane Stuckey, OpenAI’s chief information security officer, argued that the request disregards established privacy protections and violates common-sense security practices. He emphasized that journalism has historically defended privacy rights but said the Times’ actions fall short of that standard, urging the court to reject the demand. However, the company did not disclose that a federal judge had already ruled in favor of The New York Times. On November 7, Magistrate Judge Ona Wang determined it was appropriate for OpenAI to produce the logs, stating the company had not convincingly shown that user privacy would be compromised. She noted that existing protective measures in the case—including a strict protective order and OpenAI’s thorough de-identification of the data—were sufficient to safeguard user information. The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in 2023, alleging that the companies used its news articles to train AI models without permission, effectively reproducing its content in ChatGPT responses. The publication seeks to examine a sample of 20 million user logs to understand how its content was used and to assess the impact of the AI models on its audience. Despite OpenAI’s public pushback, the legal process has already been set in motion. Attorneys for The New York Times are required to review sensitive data under strict conditions: in a secure, air-gapped room, without personal electronic devices, and with government-issued ID. OpenAI has also committed to de-identifying all data to remove personally identifiable information. In a new court filing, OpenAI’s legal team asked Judge Wang to reconsider her decision, claiming the request for such a large volume of data is unjustified and not supported by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The company argues it was not given a fair opportunity to present its legal reasoning. This lawsuit is one of the most advanced and comprehensive copyright actions against AI companies. Other publishers, including Axel Springer (which owns Business Insider), have licensing agreements with OpenAI, but The New York Times has pursued litigation instead. OpenAI’s public stance follows earlier remarks by CEO Sam Altman, who questioned The New York Times reporter Kevin Roose’s position on user privacy during a June podcast interview. The company, along with Microsoft and The New York Times, has not responded to requests for comment.