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OpenAI Faces Intimidation Allegations from Small AI Policy Nonprofit Over California AI Safety Law

Encode Justice, a small AI policy nonprofit, publicly alleges OpenAI used intimidation tactics against critics of California’s AI transparency legislation. The organization’s general counsel claims OpenAI targeted them with subpoenas while implying secret funding from Elon Musk.

In a dramatic escalation of tensions within the artificial intelligence policy community, a three-person nonprofit organization that worked on California’s AI safety legislation is publicly accusing OpenAI of employing intimidation tactics against critics. Nathan Calvin, general counsel of Encode Justice, published a viral social media thread detailing what he describes as targeted legal pressure from the AI giant during debates over SB 53, the California Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act.

Allegations of Legal Intimidation Tactics