Florida has become the first US state to sue OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, accusing the company of misleading the public about the safety of its ChatGPT platform and exposing children to harmful content.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday in a Florida state court by James Uthmeier, a Republican, who alleged that ChatGPT has harmed young users by providing information linked to school shootings, offering guidance related to self-harm, and encouraging addictive behaviour.
The case marks the first legal action brought by a US state against OpenAI. The lawsuit references a shooting at Florida State University last year and several incidents in other states where ChatGPT allegedly supplied information to individuals who later committed acts of violence.
Speaking at a press conference, Uthmeier said Altman was named personally in the lawsuit because he had been “very central” to developing features that the attorney general described as harmful.
“People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it,” Uthmeier told reporters.
The lawsuit seeks damages that could reach billions of dollars, along with a court order requiring OpenAI to change how ChatGPT interacts with younger users.
An OpenAI spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The company has previously said it trains its AI models to reject requests that could “meaningfully enable violence” and alerts law enforcement when conversations indicate “an imminent and credible risk of harm to others.” OpenAI has also said mental health experts help assess difficult cases.
Uthmeier announced in April that he had opened a criminal investigation into ChatGPT’s alleged role in the 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University after prosecutors reviewed chat logs between the accused gunman and the chatbot.
The lawsuit adds to a growing number of legal challenges facing AI companies over claims that chatbot interactions contribute to self-harm, mental health problems and violent acts.
OpenAI is also defending a separate lawsuit brought by relatives of a victim killed in the Florida State University shooting, who allege ChatGPT assisted the attacker in planning the incident.
In April, family members of victims of one of Canada’s deadliest mass shootings filed lawsuits against OpenAI and Altman, alleging the company knew months before the attack that the gunman was planning violence through ChatGPT but failed to alert authorities.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
