AI safety advocacy group sues OpenAI over Hugging Face incident

Published September 29, 2026 5:26pm ET | Updated September 29, 2026 5:26pm ET



A technology and artificial intelligence safety group has sued OpenAI over a July incident in which the company’s technologies autonomously gained access to the systems of AI developer hub Hugging Face.

Legal Advocates for Safe Science and Technology filed the lawsuit on Thursday in the Superior Court of California in San Francisco, arguing the company’s conduct violated the state’s anti-hacking laws. LASST argues that OpenAI’s defense that “artificial intelligence autonomously caused the harm” in the Hugging Face incident is insufficient, and claims the company is “on the hook for harms” caused in the hacking.

Already a print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account

Trusted reporting.Unlimited access.

Subscribe for full access to Washington Examiner coverage, expert political analysis, and subscriber-only journalism.

Get Unlimited Access

Already a member? Log in

Cancel anytime.