The state of Florida has done something no American state has done before. On Monday, June 1, Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit directly against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, seeking to hold both the company and its executive personally liable for what the state describes as a knowing, systematic failure to protect users.
The lawsuit was filed in Florida state court and claims the company knowingly released and aggressively marketed ChatGPT to the public while concealing serious risks, including offering instructions to children considering suicide and helping suspects plot crimes. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said during a news conference that the company suppressed internal safety warnings and deceived users about the true nature and dangers of the product. NBC News
The case traces back to a specific event. Uthmeier previously launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI in April to determine whether the company bears responsibility for the 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University, where two people were killed. That investigation came after prosecutors reviewed the chat logs between the gunman and ChatGPT. What those logs revealed was enough for Florida to build a case.
Florida is seeking civil penalties and a court order blocking the company from collecting certain data from users under the age of 13 without parental consent, among other changes. The state accuses OpenAI of violating product liability laws and raises negligence and deceptive and unfair trade practices claims. “Sam Altman and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety and security of kids,” Uthmeier said during the press conference.
More than 20 lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI over harms allegedly stemming from ChatGPT use, including by families of victims killed and injured in a mass shooting at a school in Tumbler Ridge, Canada, in February, the family of a victim killed in the FSU shooting, and the families of seven people, including one teenager, who died by suicide or suffered delusions after using the chatbot. newsonair
OpenAI is also facing a number of wrongful death lawsuits, which allege that ChatGPT drove users to experience harmful delusions and, in some cases, to commit suicide. Altman apologized to the Tumbler Ridge community in an April letter, writing that “no one should ever have to endure a tragedy like this.” OpenAI has previously denied responsibility for the Florida shooting, stating that ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime. U.S. House Committee on the Budget
What makes this lawsuit different from the civil suits filed by individual families is its scope and its source. A state government, with investigative and prosecutorial powers, has now formally accused one of the world’s most valuable technology companies of knowingly distributing a dangerous product. That carries a different legal and regulatory weight than any civil action brought by a grieving family.
Why it matters: For years, the AI industry has operated with minimal legal accountability, protected by the same liability shields that have long covered social media platforms. Florida’s lawsuit is a direct challenge to that model. If the state succeeds in establishing that OpenAI knew about ChatGPT’s risks, suppressed internal warnings, and continued marketing the product to minors anyway, the legal and regulatory implications for every AI company in the United States could be significant and immediate.
Should AI companies be held legally responsible when their products contribute to violence or self-harm?