OpenAI · Terms of Use (ROW)

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

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What it is

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, excluding California's conflicts of law rules. Except as provided in the Dispute Resolution section, any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of courts in San Francisco County, California.

Why it matters

Non-US users who are not covered by the arbitration clause may still be required to litigate in California courts under California law, which creates a significant practical barrier to seeking legal remedies abroad.

Consumer impact

OpenAI's Terms of Use give the company a broad license to use content you submit — including your conversations with ChatGPT — to train and improve its AI models, which means your personal inputs could influence future AI behavior at scale. The mandatory arbitration clause and class action waiver significantly limit your ability to seek collective legal remedies if something goes wrong, a provision that may surprise many everyday users. You can opt out of having your data used for model training by going to Settings > Data Controls in your ChatGPT account and disabling 'Improve the model for everyone.'

Applicable agencies

  • State AG
    State Attorneys General, particularly California's AG, have authority over consumer protection violations in digital services governed by California law, including deceptive forum selection practices.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
Terms of Use (ROW)
Entity
OpenAI
Document last updated
March 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
March 10, 2026
Last verified
April 4, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-000062
Document ID
CA-D-00007
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
3a064f11bc2cb0f491e5ad76938f2712026c1d020c9f8b50528f8c7b639a4f7f
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: OpenAI | Document: Terms of Use (ROW) | Record: CA-P-000062
Captured: 2026-03-10 03:31:52 UTC | SHA-256: 3a064f11bc2cb0f4…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/openai/terms-of-use-row/governing-law-and-jurisdiction/
Accessed: April 4, 2026
Classification
Severity
Medium
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