Florida sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, on Monday, alleging that the San Francisco tech company failed to inform people about the dangers posed by its popular artificial intelligence chatbot.
OpenAI developed ChatGPT, a chatbot used by more than 900 million people weekly to answer questions, generate text and complete other tasks. But people have also used ChatGPT to plan mass shootings, obtain self-harm information and engage in other harmful acts, according to the 83-page lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed in Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit, comes as OpenAI faces mounting concerns that AI is harming people, including children and teens, and there aren’t enough safeguards in place. Florida is the first state to sue OpenAI over safety risks, setting the stage for others.
“People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived and they need to pay for it,” Florida Atty. Gen. James Uthmeier said in a news conference Monday. “They need to pay for it by opening up their checkbook and changing the program to ensure that there are parental controls and that we are not endangering our kids.”
OpenAI didn’t respond to a request for comment. The company says on its website that it focuses on safety and released new parental controls on ChatGPT.
For years, tech companies have faced lawsuits over whether they should be held liable for harm posed by the design and use of their products. But the growing popularity of AI-powered chatbots is raising more safety concerns, especially as young people embrace the tools at their schools and homes.
Concerns over AI’s risks have heightened in California. In 2025, the family of a California teen who died by suicide after conversing with ChatGPT sued OpenAI over allegations the chatbot encouraged the 16-year-old to take his own life. The case is cited in the Florida lawsuit.
Other tech companies, including Google, have faced lawsuits over the alleged role chatbots play in fueling a person’s delusions or encouraging self-harm.
California lawmakers have passed new legislation aimed at making AI safer, but tech companies say new regulation could stifle innovation. The attorneys general of California and Delaware expressed worries last year about allegations that AI chatbots are harming children.
At a news conference about the latest lawsuit, Uthmeier accused OpenAI and Altman of prioritizing profit over public safety as the AI company races ahead. This year, the Florida attorney general’s office also announced it’s investigating OpenAI over the role ChatGPT played in a 2025 shooting at Florida State University that left two people dead.
OpenAI and Altman deceived parents into thinking that ChatGPT is safe when it’s not, violating Florida laws, according to the lawsuit.
Uthmeier brought up several cases in various states, outlining people’s use of ChatGPT in shootings, suicides and other types of deaths, including one that involved a drug overdose. ChatGPT, he said, can be “addictive” because it mimics human empathy, tricking users into providing more information to the AI chatbot.
“Today we’re going to send a message to OpenAI: Get ready for a fight, and there’s not one more important than this right now,” Uthmeier said.
The post ‘People are getting hurt’: OpenAI sued by Florida over alleged safety risks appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
