Florida Becomes First US State to Sue OpenAI Over Child Safety Concerns

Florida has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman, accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of its ChatGPT platform and alleging that it has exposed children to harmful content, including information linked to school shootings, guidance on self-harm and material that could encourage addictive use among young people.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in Florida state court, marks the first time a US state has taken legal action against the company. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, said the action follows concerns that ChatGPT has caused harm to minors.

The complaint cites a shooting at a university in Tallahassee last year, along with incidents in other states where ChatGPT allegedly provided information to individuals who later committed acts of violence.

At a press conference, Uthmeier said Altman was named personally because of his central role in promoting features of ChatGPT that the state alleges contributed to harm.

“People are getting hurt, parents are being deceived, and they need to pay for it,” he told reporters.

The lawsuit seeks damages of up to billions of dollars, along with a court order requiring the company to change how it interacts with younger users.

An OpenAI spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

OpenAI has previously said 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 experts involved in assessing borderline cases.

Uthmeier announced in April that he had launched a criminal investigation into ChatGPT’s role in a 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University, after prosecutors reviewed chat logs between the alleged shooter and the system.

AI companies are facing an increasing number of lawsuits accusing them of failing to prevent chatbot interactions that plaintiffs say have contributed to self-harm, mental illness and violence.

OpenAI is also facing a separate lawsuit filed by the family of a man killed in the Florida State University shooting, which alleges the attacker was aided by ChatGPT in planning the assault.

In April, families of victims of one of Canada’s deadliest mass shootings filed a group of lawsuits against OpenAI and Altman, alleging the company knew months in advance that the attacker was planning violence using ChatGPT, but failed to alert authorities.

For any enquiries or information, contact ask@tlr.ae or call us on +971 52 644 3004. Follow The Law Reporters on WhatsApp Channels.