News orgs win fight to access 20M ChatGPT logs. Now they want more.

2026-01-06 · Source: AI - Ars Technica · Field: Legal & Regulatory — Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property & Patents, Compliance & Risk Management · Depth: Intermediate, quick

Summary

News organizations have secured access to 20 million ChatGPT logs as part of their copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI. They accuse OpenAI of systematically deleting evidence, citing "two spikes in mass deletion" attributed to "technical issues," while allegedly preserving data favorable to its defense. Plaintiffs claim OpenAI failed to preserve chats that could serve as evidence against it, a practice contrasted with Microsoft's ability to preserve Copilot logs. The news groups are now demanding that Microsoft immediately produce Copilot logs in a searchable format and are seeking to determine if OpenAI's deleted logs, including those from mass deletions, can be retrieved to bring millions more conversations into the litigation. They also requested a preservation order to remain in effect and for OpenAI to detail the full scope of destroyed data and its restorability.

Key takeaway

For legal teams managing intellectual property disputes involving AI models, this case underscores the critical importance of comprehensive data preservation and transparent logging practices. Your organization should proactively establish clear data retention policies and ensure all relevant logs are immutable to avoid accusations of evidence tampering. Failure to do so could lead to court orders for data production, potential sanctions, and reputational damage.

Key insights

Litigation against OpenAI highlights alleged selective data deletion practices and demands for comprehensive log access.

Principles

• Data preservation is critical in legal disputes.
• Transparency in data handling builds trust.

In practice

• Implement robust data retention policies.
• Ensure consistent data preservation across products.

Topics

• OpenAI Copyright Litigation
• Data Preservation
• ChatGPT Logs
• Microsoft Copilot
• Data Deletion Practices

Best for: CTO, VP of Engineering/Data, Director of AI/ML, Legal Professional, Tech Journalist, AI Ethicist

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by AI - Ars Technica.