OpenAI will apply new restrictions to ChatGPT users under 18
TechCrunch22 hrs
OpenAI Launches Teen Safety Features for ChatGPT
Above: Sam Altman in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2025. Image copyright: Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
This is a necessary and responsible approach to protecting vulnerable minors from AI technology that wasn't designed with their developmental needs in mind. The tragic case of Adam Raine demonstrates the real dangers when powerful AI systems interact with teens experiencing mental health crises without proper safeguards.
Establishment-critical narrative
While teen safety is important, these restrictions create a troubling precedent of age-based censorship that could expand beyond protecting minors to limiting adult freedoms, privacy rights and personal autonomy through mandatory ID verification, invasive data collection, broad surveillance and behavioral monitoring systems.