Escondido’s ‘Holy Sexuality’ booster wins settlement, policy change from OpenAI – Times of San Diego
Join the 20,000+ people who get Times of San Diego in their inbox at 8 a.m. every day – plus breaking news alerts. We’ve also added weekly updates from San Diego neighborhoods! By clicking sign up, you agree to the terms. Select below.
Times of San Diego
Local News and Opinion for San Diego
Christian author and theologian Christopher “Chris” Yuan of Escondido is now 2-0 in lawsuits against San Francisco-based tech giants. The latest to fold — OpenAI — could soon be the world’s richest private company.
Said to be on the verge of a $500 billion valuation, Sam Altman’s shop will give Yuan’s nonprofit a $5-a-month discount on a ChatGPT product.
Money wasn’t the point, however.
As part of a deal that closed the case Aug. 7, OpenAI agreed to remove “religious discrimination language” from its policy and give Holy Sexuality the 20% discount for a ChatGPT subscription that it offers other nonprofits.
Attorneys for the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom on July 16 said they reached a “favorable settlement” on behalf of Christian nonprofit Holy Sexuality, run by Yuan, 55.
OpenAI didn’t respond to a series of questions.
But a rep of Yuan’s legal team — including Rancho Santa Fe attorney Robert J. Reynolds — said: “Christians and other people of faith aren’t second-class citizens in California, and tech companies can’t deny otherwise available discounts to customers simply because they’re religious.”
ADF Senior Counsel Phil Sechler, director of its Center for Free Speech, added in a statement: “OpenAI did the right thing by reversing course, agreeing to give Holy Sexuality the ChatGPT discount it offers other nonprofits, and eliminating its discriminatory policy.”
ADF sued in San Diego federal court, citing in part California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which entitles all people in California “no matter what their . . . religion” to “full and equal” treatment from businesses.
Holy Sexuality calls itself a Christian ministry that creates educational content about biblical teachings.
“After seeing much confusion in the ongoing societal debate surrounding sexuality and gender identity, Dr. Christopher Yuan founded Holy Sexuality to provide resources for any family to understand, embrace and celebrate biblical sexuality,” said a news release.
The Holy Sexuality Project is part of the gay conversion movement — employing much-derided practices to “help” people shed LGBTQ behavior and identities.
In late February, Yuan sought to pay $20 per user instead of $25 for a ChatGPT account to translate his “holy sexuality” products into languages including Chinese and Spanish.
Join the 20,000+ people who get Times of San Diego in their inbox at 8 a.m. every day – plus breaking news alerts. We’ve also added weekly updates from San Diego neighborhoods! By clicking sign up, you agree to the terms. Select below.
Twenty days later, OpenAI denied his request. His suit, filed May 21, didn’t even yield an answer from OpenAI. Less than two months later, a settlement deal was reached.
In mid-April, ADF settled a similar lawsuit with San Francisco-based Asana Inc. — also citing Yuan as the injured party. Yuan was originally denied a 50% nonprofit discount for Asana’s project management software.
Yuan’s ministry also offers discounted licenses for its 12-lesson, 36-video package.
Early versions of his website suggested he had lowered household license costs from $200 to $20. Now the figure “$300-$500” is crossed out and $20 is listed for a two-year license thanks to a “sacrificial donors.”
Free neighborhood news in your inbox
Join the 20,000+ people who get Times of San Diego in their inbox at 8 a.m. every day – plus breaking news alerts. And we’ve recently added weekly updates from San Diego neighborhoods – select community news below.
By clicking sign up, you agree to the terms.
ABOUT
Donate
Newsletters
Corrections policy
Contact us
Advertising and sponsorship policies
Reader submission guidelines and form
Privacy statement
Republication guidelines
Additional policies and guidelines
Terms of use
Donor transparency
San Diego residents need the truth. Help us report it. Join the growing list of donors investing in our community’s long-term future.
source
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
Times of San Diego
Local News and Opinion for San Diego
Christian author and theologian Christopher “Chris” Yuan of Escondido is now 2-0 in lawsuits against San Francisco-based tech giants. The latest to fold — OpenAI — could soon be the world’s richest private company.
Said to be on the verge of a $500 billion valuation, Sam Altman’s shop will give Yuan’s nonprofit a $5-a-month discount on a ChatGPT product.
Money wasn’t the point, however.
As part of a deal that closed the case Aug. 7, OpenAI agreed to remove “religious discrimination language” from its policy and give Holy Sexuality the 20% discount for a ChatGPT subscription that it offers other nonprofits.
Attorneys for the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom on July 16 said they reached a “favorable settlement” on behalf of Christian nonprofit Holy Sexuality, run by Yuan, 55.
OpenAI didn’t respond to a series of questions.
But a rep of Yuan’s legal team — including Rancho Santa Fe attorney Robert J. Reynolds — said: “Christians and other people of faith aren’t second-class citizens in California, and tech companies can’t deny otherwise available discounts to customers simply because they’re religious.”
ADF Senior Counsel Phil Sechler, director of its Center for Free Speech, added in a statement: “OpenAI did the right thing by reversing course, agreeing to give Holy Sexuality the ChatGPT discount it offers other nonprofits, and eliminating its discriminatory policy.”
ADF sued in San Diego federal court, citing in part California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which entitles all people in California “no matter what their . . . religion” to “full and equal” treatment from businesses.
Holy Sexuality calls itself a Christian ministry that creates educational content about biblical teachings.
“After seeing much confusion in the ongoing societal debate surrounding sexuality and gender identity, Dr. Christopher Yuan founded Holy Sexuality to provide resources for any family to understand, embrace and celebrate biblical sexuality,” said a news release.
The Holy Sexuality Project is part of the gay conversion movement — employing much-derided practices to “help” people shed LGBTQ behavior and identities.
In late February, Yuan sought to pay $20 per user instead of $25 for a ChatGPT account to translate his “holy sexuality” products into languages including Chinese and Spanish.
Join the 20,000+ people who get Times of San Diego in their inbox at 8 a.m. every day – plus breaking news alerts. We’ve also added weekly updates from San Diego neighborhoods! By clicking sign up, you agree to the terms. Select below.
Twenty days later, OpenAI denied his request. His suit, filed May 21, didn’t even yield an answer from OpenAI. Less than two months later, a settlement deal was reached.
In mid-April, ADF settled a similar lawsuit with San Francisco-based Asana Inc. — also citing Yuan as the injured party. Yuan was originally denied a 50% nonprofit discount for Asana’s project management software.
Yuan’s ministry also offers discounted licenses for its 12-lesson, 36-video package.
Early versions of his website suggested he had lowered household license costs from $200 to $20. Now the figure “$300-$500” is crossed out and $20 is listed for a two-year license thanks to a “sacrificial donors.”
Free neighborhood news in your inbox
Join the 20,000+ people who get Times of San Diego in their inbox at 8 a.m. every day – plus breaking news alerts. And we’ve recently added weekly updates from San Diego neighborhoods – select community news below.
By clicking sign up, you agree to the terms.
ABOUT
Donate
Newsletters
Corrections policy
Contact us
Advertising and sponsorship policies
Reader submission guidelines and form
Privacy statement
Republication guidelines
Additional policies and guidelines
Terms of use
Donor transparency
San Diego residents need the truth. Help us report it. Join the growing list of donors investing in our community’s long-term future.
source
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
