OpenAI is preparing to implement a controversial shift in content moderation starting in December. The company plans to significantly relax restrictions on ChatGPT output, enabled by a full rollout of age-gating that will follow the principle to "treat adult users like adults".
This feature will use automatic age detection to differentiate between minors and adults, alongside new parental controls. The relaxation of rules is specifically designed to give verified adult users access to content that was previously restricted, including topics such as erotica.
CEO Sam Altman's justification
According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the chatbot was initially made restrictive to ensure it handled sensitive topics, particularly mental health issues, with the utmost caution.
Altman noted that these blanket restrictions, however, made the chatbot "less enjoyable" for many users who were not struggling with acute issues. Since the company has now mitigated the most serious risks and developed new safety tools, it has decided to relax the restrictions in most cases.
This move aligns with a signal the company sent during its DevDay 2025 announcements. New developer guidelines indicated that "support for mature (18+) experiences will arrive once appropriate age verification and controls are in place". Post-December, this implies that adult interactions with ChatGPT or related apps will be permitted for verified adults.
New safety and parental controls
Separately, OpenAI recently rolled out new controls allowing parents to link their accounts to their teen’s account. This feature allows parents to choose which functions to disable and to "receive notifications when the system detects their teen is in a moment of acute distress," according to a company blog post detailing the changes going into effect this fall.
Regardless of a user's age, the company maintains that its chatbots will redirect the most distressing conversations to more capable AI models that are trained to provide helpful and responsible responses.
This announcement comes just a week after the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT assisted the California boy in planning and executing his suicide earlier this year.
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