Public Citizen Letter Calls on Open AI to Withdraw Sora 2 Video Generation
Letter Cites Digital Harassment, Other Concerns
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Public Citizen sent a letter today calling on OpenAI to withdraw the Sora 2 video generation model from all public-facing platforms. The letter cites concerns over the proliferation of deepfake disinformation and propaganda; violations of name, image, and likeness rights; documented use of Sora 2 for digital harassment; as well as lack of any technical protections for copyright holders.
In the letter, the group pressed Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, “OpenAI must commit to a measured, ethical, and transparent pre-deployment process that provides guarantees against the profound social risks before any public release. We urge you to pause this deployment and engage collaboratively with legal experts, civil rights organizations, and democracy advocates to establish real, hard technological and ethical redlines.”
“The rushed release of Sora 2 exemplifies a consistent and dangerous pattern of OpenAI rushing to market with a product that is either inherently unsafe or lacking in needed guardrails. The hasty release of Sora 2 demonstrates a reckless disregard for product safety, name/image/likeness rights, the stability of our democracy, and fundamental consumer protection against harm,” said J.B. Branch, a Big Tech accountability advocate at Public Citizen.
The letter cites various issues that make Sora 2 unfit for public consumption:
- Threatens the Erosion of Visual Facts: Sora 2 provides a scalable, frictionless tool for creating and disseminating deepfake propaganda. In the political context, especially leading up to 2026 mid-term elections, this could have dire consequences.
- Massive Disregard for Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Rights: Individuals who have not consented to the usage of their name, image, and likeness rights are nonetheless being reproduced through unauthorized deepfakes by users on Sora 2. OpenAI has already received several complaints directly from estates of deceased celebrities.
- The Rise of Niche Digital Harassment and Fetish Content: Sora 2 has enabled non-nude fetish content to proliferate on the platform, disproportionately affecting women. There is a dangerous lack of moderation pertaining to underage individuals depicted in sexual contexts, making Sora 2 unsuitable for public use.
- Total Failure of Technical Protections: The “opt-out” policy for copyright holders was inconsistently applied, allowing for images to proliferate of copyright protected entities. The safeguards that the model claims have not been effective. For example, researchers bypassed the anti-impersonation safeguards within 24 hours of launch, and the “mandatory” safety watermarks can be removed in under four minutes with free online tools.