June 1 - Florida has initiated the first state-level civil action against OpenAI, naming both the company and its chief executive, Sam Altman, in a lawsuit that accuses the maker of ChatGPT of falsely portraying the safety of its conversational AI. The complaint, filed in Florida state court by Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier, contends that ChatGPT has harmed children by providing information linked to school shooters, offering instructions on self-harm, and creating addictive experiences for young users.
Uthmeier pointed to a 2025 mass shooting at a university in Tallahassee and to several incidents in other states where, the lawsuit alleges, interactions with ChatGPT supplied information to individuals who later committed acts of violence. At a press briefing announcing the filing, Uthmeier said the complaint names Altman personally because he had been "very central" to advancing certain ChatGPT features that Uthmeier described as among the most harmful.
"People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it," Uthmeier told reporters. He said the lawsuit seeks damages that could total up to billions of dollars and asks the court to issue an order compelling OpenAI to change how it engages with underage users.
OpenAI has responded publicly in general terms about its safety practices, saying its models are trained to refuse requests that could "meaningfully enable violence," and that it alerts law enforcement when conversations indicate an "imminent and credible risk of harm to others," with mental health professionals participating in assessments of borderline situations. A spokesperson for OpenAI did not immediately respond to a direct request for comment regarding the new Florida lawsuit.
The state attorney general had earlier announced a criminal probe in April into ChatGPT's role in the 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University, after prosecutors reviewed chat logs between the alleged shooter and the AI. That announcement preceded this civil filing and reflects overlapping legal scrutiny of the technology from both criminal and civil angles.
OpenAI now faces multiple legal challenges related to allegations that its technology played roles in violent incidents. The company is being sued by the family of a man killed in the Florida State University shooting, who contend the shooter used ChatGPT in planning the attack. In addition, in April, relatives of victims of a major Canadian mass shooting filed group suits against OpenAI and Altman, alleging the company had knowledge, eight months before the attack, that the shooter was planning the incident on ChatGPT and failed to notify authorities.
The Florida complaint elevates the debate over responsibility for online interactions with advanced AI and highlights growing pressure from state authorities seeking monetary relief and operational changes. The suit frames the issue around child safety, alleging both direct harms and deceptive communications to parents about how the service operates and its risks.
As the litigation proceeds, it will add to an expanding set of legal claims confronting AI companies that plaintiffs say have not done enough to prevent chatbot conversations that contribute to self-harm, mental illness, or violent acts. The outcome of the Florida case could determine whether state-level civil litigation becomes a more common mechanism for addressing alleged harms linked to generative AI platforms.