Florida Attorney General Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman, Alleging ChatGPT Caused Harm to Users
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed an 83-page civil complaint Monday in the state's 10th Judicial Circuit against OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman.
New York PostFlorida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed an 83-page civil complaint Monday in the state's 10th Judicial Circuit against OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman. The complaint alleges that OpenAI and Altman owed a duty of reasonable care when designing, marketing and distributing ChatGPT and that they breached a heightened duty because of risks including addiction, cognitive decline, suicide and violence.
It claims the company ignored internal and external safety warnings, put children at risk and allowed a dangerous product to reach millions of Floridians.
The filing links ChatGPT to two confirmed ChatGPT-consulted shootings at Florida State University in 2025 and to the deaths of two University of South Florida graduate students this year. It states that mass shooters were aided by the chatbot, vulnerable people were encouraged into suicide, professionals suffered public humiliation, users lost critical thinking skills and minors became addicted to a tool that collects data without parental oversight.
The complaint seeks injunctions against OpenAI, a halt to data collection from minors, new guardrails for ChatGPT and penalties under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Uthmeier opened a separate criminal investigation into OpenAI in April. The civil suit names Altman personally and seeks to hold him liable for reckless and willful conduct as founder and CEO. The suit comes after OpenAI and Altman prevailed last month in a jury trial rejecting co-founder Elon Musk's $150 billion lawsuit over the company's shift to for-profit status.
Musk has said he will appeal that verdict.
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