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ChatGPT for Teens Unsafe, Common Sense Media Report Finds

Non-profit urges OpenAI to pause marketing and restrict adolescent use due to safety concerns.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
A teen holds a phone in her hand sitting at a kitchen table.

What this story says

  • Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute has identified significant safety problems with ChatGPT for Teens.
  • The report recommends OpenAI pause marketing and prohibit adolescents from using the chatbot.
  • Testers found parental notifications failed to trigger during conversations about suicide, self-harm, or disordered eating.
  • OpenAI disputes the report's findings, stating the research may have been conducted before parental controls were fully active.

Who covered it

Left 54%(7)Centre 23%(3)Right 23%(4)

Percentages are shares of the 14 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 18 of the 32 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

65/100

Hype

41/100

32 sources · methodology

A report by Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute has concluded that ChatGPT for Teens presents "unacceptable risks" to users aged 13 to 17. The institute is calling for OpenAI to stop marketing the product and to prevent adolescents from using it until safety issues are resolved. OpenAI has disputed the report's findings, suggesting the testing may have occurred before parental controls were fully implemented.

Disputed Findings on Safety Features

The report states that testers found parental notifications failed to activate during conversations involving suicide, self-harm, or disordered eating, even when exchanges lasted up to an hour. OpenAI contends that most testing may have been conducted before parental controls were fully activated, rendering the findings inaccurate. The company also stated that its internal monitoring conflicts with the report's conclusions regarding parental notifications. Common Sense Media, however, maintains its methodology and results, asserting that parental alerts remain unreliable for crisis situations.

Further issues were identified with the 'Study Mode' feature. The report found that the 'show me the answer' option completed homework for teens in a significant percentage of cases. This option appeared in 43 percent of responses for a 13-year-old test user with a linked parental account during Study Hours, and 90 percent of the time for an unlinked 17-year-old account. Testers also found that Study Hours could be circumvented by deleting a prefix from the chat box, allowing access to the regular ChatGPT which then completed assignments.

The report also raised concerns about age assurance, stating that ChatGPT could not reliably determine a user's age. Accounts registered as adults, but referencing adolescent experiences, were not reclassified as teen accounts. Even when a specific age like 13 was disclosed, the account did not receive additional safeguards or feature limits.

What the coverage left out

None of the left, centre, or right-rated reports mention that Common Sense Media has received philanthropic funding from the OpenAI Foundation, although they state the testing is independent.

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 8 times, most recently on 7 Oct 2026, 15:15, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

7 rated outlets

  • Seven left-rated reports led on the core finding that ChatGPT for Teens is unsafe. Mashable, PC Mag, TNW, Axios, Los Angeles Times, The Verge, and Futurism all highlighted the "unacceptable risk" or "unsafe" nature of the product. These reports detailed the failure of parental notifications during crisis conversations, the issues with the 'show me the answer' function in Study Mode, and the concerns about age assurance. Axios stated, "Not safe for kids": advocacy group urges OpenAI to keep teens off ChatGPT, while Los Angeles Times reported, "ChatGPT’s teen safeguards failed to alert parents during suicide conversations, report finds."

Centre

3 rated outlets

  • Three centre-rated reports focused on the "unacceptable risk" classification and the call for OpenAI to restrict access. Quartz, Bloomberg, and Education Week all reported that Common Sense Media rated ChatGPT for Teens as an "unacceptable risk" and that the non-profit wants OpenAI to restrict users to 18 and older. Education Week noted that "ChatGPT's 'Teen Mode' Is Unsafe for Students, Report Concludes," and highlighted the chatbot's failure to report unsafe interactions to parents in a timely manner.

Right

4 rated outlets

  • Three right-rated reports also led with the "unacceptable risk" finding. Latestly, news-pravda.com, and Reformatorisch Dagblad reported that ChatGPT poses an "unacceptable risk" to teens. News-pravda.com's headline stated, "A teenager can spend hours discussing self, harm with ChatGPT - and his parents won't know about it," focusing on the parental notification failures. Reformatorisch Dagblad reported that the organization calls on OpenAI to deny teenagers aged 13 to 17 access to ChatGPT until it can provide a safe experience.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover ChatGPT for Teens Unsafe, Common Sense Media Report Finds?
Of the 14 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 54% are rated left, 23% are rated centre, 23% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 32. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is ChatGPT for Teens Unsafe, Common Sense Media Report Finds left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 14 rated outlets on this story, 54% are rated left, 23% are rated centre, 23% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of ChatGPT for Teens Unsafe, Common Sense Media Report Finds biased?
ChatGPT for Teens Unsafe, Common Sense Media Report Finds is one event reported by 32 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered ChatGPT for Teens Unsafe, Common Sense Media Report Finds?
32 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What are the main safety concerns raised about ChatGPT for Teens?
The primary concerns raised by Common Sense Media include the failure of parental notifications during conversations about suicide, self-harm, or disordered eating. Additionally, the report noted issues with the 'show me the answer' feature in Study Mode completing homework and difficulties in enforcing age restrictions.
What does the report recommend OpenAI do?
The report calls on OpenAI to pause marketing of ChatGPT for Teens and prohibit adolescents from using the chatbot. It suggests that access should be restricted until OpenAI can address the identified safety problems and ensure a developmentally appropriate experience for young users.
How has OpenAI responded to the report's findings?
OpenAI has disputed the report's claims, characterizing the research as flawed. The company suggested that much of the testing may have been conducted before parental controls were fully activated, which they believe would make the findings inaccurate. OpenAI also stated that its internal monitoring conflicts with the report's conclusions.

Read it at the source

32 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

7

Centre

3

Right

4

Not rated

18
Show 10 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

ChatGPT for Teens safety report | MediaBias News