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OpenAI’s NDA has come under renewed scrutiny after a whistleblower sent a letter to the SEC alleging that employees were forced to sign “illegally restrictive” agreements that prohibited them from speaking out about potential harms to the company’s technology. accuses OpenAI of violating SEC rules intended to protect employees’ rights to report concerns to federal authorities and prevent retaliation, following a formal complaint filed with the SEC in June.
In their letter, the whistleblowers call on the SEC to “take swift and aggressive action” to enforce the rules that Open AI allegedly violated. The alleged violations include having employees sign agreements that “do not waive disclosure of securities violations to the SEC” and requiring employees to get company consent before disclosing confidential information to the agency. The letter also states that Open AI’s contracts require employees to “waive rewards intended by Congress to incentivize reporting and provide financial relief to whistleblowers.”
In a statement post“Our whistleblower policy protects employees’ rights to make protected disclosures,” OpenAI spokeswoman Hannah Wong said, adding that the company had made “significant changes” to its severance documents to eliminate the non-disparagement clauses. OpenAI had previously said it was amending those agreements after accusations that it had threatened employees if they did not sign NDAs upon leaving the company.
according to The Washington PostThe SEC responded to the complaint but has not yet released details on what action it may or may not take. But the whistleblowers say enforcement is paramount, “even if OpenAI makes reforms in response to the disclosure of its unlawful contracts.” The letter states, “This is necessary not to attack OpenAI or impede the progress of AI technology, but to send a message to other companies in the AI ​​space and the tech industry at large that violations of employees’ and investors’ rights to report wrongdoing will not be tolerated.”