According to a story from The Washington Post, whistleblowers submitted an official complaint to the agency in the month of June.
OpenAI’s non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are once again being scrutinized after whistleblowers wrote a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stating that employees were forced to sign “illegally restrictive” agreements that prevented them from speaking out about the possible risks posed by the company’s technology. In the letter, which was obtained by The Washington Post and published online, OpenAI is accused of breaking SEC guidelines that are intended to protect the rights of employees to disclose their concerns to federal authorities and to prevent retaliation. This comes as a result of an official complaint that was submitted to the SEC in the month of June.
The whistleblowers submitted a letter to the SEC, in which they requested that the agency “take swift and aggressive steps” to enforce the standards that they believe OpenAI has breached. One of the alleged violations is that employees were required to sign agreements “that failed to exempt disclosures of securities violations to the SEC.” Additionally, employees were required to obtain consent from the company before disclosing confidential information to the authorities. The letter also states that OpenAI’s agreements forced employees to “waive compensation that was intended by Congress to incentivize reporting and provide financial relief to whistleblowers.” This was stated in the letter.
Hannah Wong, a spokesperson for OpenAI, issued a statement to the Post in which she stated, “Our whistleblower policy protects employees’ rights to make protected disclosures.” She also mentioned that the company has made “important changes” to its off-boarding papers in order to eliminate nondisparagement terms. Previously, OpenAI stated that it was working to rectify these arrangements. This was in response to allegations that it had threatened to recoup the vested equity of departing employees if they did not sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) before leaving the company.
In response to the complaint, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly provided a response; however, no specifics regarding any action that the SEC intends to take or will not take have been disclosed as of yet. According to the individuals who have come forward with information, however, enforcement is of the utmost significance, “even if OpenAI is making reforms in light of the public disclosures of their illegal contracts.” It is necessary, according to the letter, “not as an attack on OpenAI or to hinder the advancement of AI technology, but to send the message to others in the AI space, and to the tech industry at large, that violations on the right of employees or investors to report wrongdoing will not be tolerated.” OpenAI is a company that creates artificial intelligence research and development software.