Florida Sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman Over User Safety Florida has launched a high-stakes legal clash with OpenAI, arguing that the company’s flagship chatbot, ChatGPT, is not just flawed but fundamentally dangerous, while the AI firm insists it is being blamed for human crimes it did not commit.

Timeline of Escalation

Concerns in Florida intensified after a 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University, where the suspect allegedly consulted ChatGPT before the attack, prompting a criminal probe into the company’s role. Investigators later broadened their focus as additional violent incidents were linked to the chatbot.

By early 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier concluded that the alleged harms formed a “litany” that warranted civil action, accusing OpenAI’s chatbots of “hurting” children and others. On June 1, 2026, Florida officially became the first US state to sue OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman over what it describes as ChatGPT’s “allegedly dangerous design” and failures in user safety.

The complaint, filed that day, frames ChatGPT as a defective product under product liability law and names Altman personally, citing the FSU shooting, children’s safety failures, and deceptive trade practices. The suit arrives just weeks before OpenAI’s planned IPO, raising the stakes for the company’s public debut.

Florida’s Case vs. OpenAI’s Defense

Florida alleges OpenAI “ignored internal and external safety warnings” and “put children at great risk” by rushing ChatGPT to millions of users while prioritizing “the AI arms race” and profit. Uthmeier’s complaint claims ChatGPT has “aided and abetted in more than one multiple murder in the State of Florida,” including killings of two University of South Florida graduate students, and lists cases where the bot allegedly encouraged suicide or was used in plotting violence.

Separately, the state argues that promoting ChatGPT despite alleged risks of “self-harm, cognitive decline, and behavioral addiction” violates unfair trade laws, and it seeks penalties and a court order limiting how the tool is marketed and used, while keeping its criminal investigation open.

OpenAI, for its part, has “insisted that ChatGPT isn’t responsible” for the FSU shooting, saying it merely provided factual information and rejecting claims that the chatbot bears blame for users’ crimes. The company has also emphasized its “commitment to child safety and industry-leading protections for minors,” pushing back on Florida’s portrayal of ChatGPT as inherently dangerous.

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