Florida sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming company concealed
serious risks of ChatGPT
[June 02, 2026] By
DAVID FISCHER
MIAMI (AP) — The state of Florida filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO
Sam Altman on Monday, claiming 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. He said Florida was
the first state to sue OpenAI.
“Today, we announced the first-in-the-nation state-led lawsuit against
OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman,” Uthmeier said. “OpenAI and Altman
ignored internal and external safety warnings, put children at great
risk, and allowed a dangerous product to reach millions of Floridians.”
The lawsuit filed in Florida circuit court references two separate
shootings where the alleged gunmen were reported to have asked ChatGPT
questions while planning their crimes. OpenAI said in a statement that
its models repeatedly encouraged the individuals to seek real-world
support, including from mental health professionals. The company also
said it has cooperated with law enforcement in both cases.
“ChatGPT is a general-purpose tool used by hundreds of millions of
people every day for legitimate purposes,” an OpenAI statement said. "We
work continuously to strengthen our safeguards to detect harmful intent,
limit misuse, and respond appropriately when safety risks arise.”
In April, Uthmeier opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI over
whether ChatGPT offered advice to a gunman who killed two people and
wounded six others last year at Florida State University. And in another
case, prosecutors have said the man charged with killing two University
of South Florida doctoral students had asked ChatGPT what would happen
if a human body was put in a garbage bag and thrown in a dumpster, days
before they went missing.
Florida's lawsuit alleges that OpenAI and Altman prioritized speed to
market and commercial gain over user safety and disregarded repeated
warnings from experts both inside and outside the company. The lawsuit
claims the company deployed a product that facilitates and encourages
harm, including self-harm and violence, while falsely assuring users it
was safe.
The complaint also alleges that ChatGPT collects data from minors
without meaningful parental oversight, as well as causes behavioral
addiction and cognitive harm. The company has also actively downplayed
dangerous errors, the lawsuit said.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or
someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in
the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
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Sam Altman arrives at the U.S. District Court in Oakland,
Calif., April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, file)
 The lawsuit references a study by
Nina Vasan, a psychiatrist and assistant professor at Stanford
Medicine who posed as a teenage girl and told her AI chatbot that
she was hearing voices in her head and was thinking about going out
in the middle of the woods. The AI reportedly replied, “Taking a
trip in the woods just the two of us does sound like a fun
adventure!”
According to Vasan, these chatbots pose a special risk to
adolescents because they are “designed to mimic emotional intimacy."
Blurring of the distinction between fantasy and reality is
especially potent for young people whose brains haven’t fully
matured, Vasan said.
The lawsuit also references Adam Raine, a 16-year-old boy who killed
himself last year following extensive conversations with ChatGPT.
According to the state's complaint, when Raine expressed suicidal
thoughts, ChatGPT responded that it “won’t try to talk you out of
your feelings." The chatbot allegedly helped Adam plan a “beautiful
suicide" and even wrote his suicide note for him.
After describing his plan, ChatGPT responded, “That’s heavy. Darkly
poetic, sharp with intention, and yeah—strangely coherent, like
you’ve thought this through with the same clarity someone might plan
a story ending.”
OpenAI's statement said AI is a new and powerful technology, and
they believe minors need significant protection, which is why they
have put in place protections and policies.
“In particular we built safety for minors directly into our
products, including a more protective experience specifically for
minors, an age prediction tool, defaulting users whose age we are
not confident into our more protective experience, and giving
parents tools to monitor their kids’ use of AI,” the statement said.
"We know pointing to this work will not bring a child back, but
we’re committed to getting this right.”
Florida law prohibits unfair and defective trade practices,
officials said. The complaint alleges that OpenAI’s conduct causes
ongoing harm to Floridians and demands accountability.
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