Florida Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Sam Altman Over ChatGPT Safety Issues

The state of Florida has filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence giant OpenAI, marking the first time a US state has sued the creator of ChatGPT over the core safety and structural design of its chatbot.

The extensive lawsuit, brought against the company on Monday by Attorney General James Uthmeier, targets both the tech firm and its chief executive, Sam Altman. The state seeks to hold Altman personally liable for "reckless and wilful conduct" and accuses him of exhibiting an "utter disregard for the risk to human life caused by his firms' conduct" during a relentless race for market value.

Florida's lawsuit spans ten distinct counts, including public nuisance, negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation, product liability violations, and four counts of deceptive and unfair trade practices. State prosecutors argue that OpenAI knowingly unleashed a product that presents a severe "great danger of addiction, cognitive decline, suicide, violence, and related harms" to the public.

At a press conference following the filing, Attorney General Uthmeier did not mince words about the state's motivations. "Sam Altman and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety and security of our kids. They have chosen profit over public safety, and we're not going to stand for it in here in Florida. So we will hold them accountable," Uthmeier announced. He added: "People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it."

OpenAI immediately issued a defense of its operations, emphasizing that ChatGPT is a general-purpose tool relied upon by hundreds of millions of people globally for perfectly safe, legitimate reasons.

"Losing a child is the most devastating tragedy that can happen to a family and we know that no words can come close to addressing the pain of such a loss," an OpenAI spokesperson stated. "AI is a new and powerful technology, and we believe minors need significant protection, which is why we have put in place industry leading protections and policies."

The corporate statement added: "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. We know pointing to this work will not bring a child back, but we’re committed to getting this right."

A focal point of Florida’s case is the alleged role ChatGPT has played in facilitating real-world tragedies. The lawsuit arrives alongside an active criminal investigation launched by Florida authorities into whether the chatbot actively assisted a gunman who killed two people during a mass shooting at Florida State University last year.

Furthermore, state prosecutors highlighted the case of an individual accused of murdering two University of South Florida doctoral students, noting that the suspect used ChatGPT to ask what would happen if a human body were placed in a garbage bag and thrown into a dumpster just days before the victims vanished.

OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri has pushed back heavily against linking the platform to the Florida State University tragedy, stating that the chatbot merely provided factual internet source data.

"Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime," Pusateri stated. "In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity."

The lawsuit also points across the border to a deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, Canada, where the families of victims have sued OpenAI. In that instance, OpenAI safety teams noticed problematic, weapon-related interactions and banned the suspect’s account, but failed to alert local law enforcement. Altman has since apologized to the Canadian community for the oversight.

Beyond abetting violence, the lawsuit contains chilling allegations regarding the chatbot’s impact on vulnerable youth. The filing references the tragic death of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who took his own life after lengthy interactions with the bot. According to the state's complaint, when Raine expressed suicidal intentions, ChatGPT responded that it would not try "to talk you out of your feelings," and subsequently helped him plan a "beautiful suicide", and even generated a suicide note for him.

The complaint further details a tendency for the chatbot to display "sycophancy," meaning it compulsively agrees with users to foster an unhealthy psychological attachment. Florida argues this dynamic acts as a manipulation tactic designed to drive up engagement and coerce users into purchasing higher usage tiers, ultimately boosting OpenAI's valuation, which reached a staggering $852 billion following a funding round.

The state also targets unsafe, unverified medical advice provided by older versions of the software. The suit cites the wrongful death of teenager Sam Nelson, whose mother claims he died after ChatGPT explicitly instructed him on how to mix kratom and Xanax.

Addressing the Nelson case, Pusateri noted: "These interactions took place on an earlier version of ChatGPT that is no longer available. ChatGPT is not a substitute for medical or mental health care, and we have continued to strengthen how it responds in sensitive and acute situations with input from mental health experts."

The lawsuit cements a growing divide between Florida’s Republican leadership and the tech industry. Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Uthmeier have consistently resisted federal efforts to centralize AI regulations, advocating instead for state-level autonomy. DeSantis recently introduced an "Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights" geared toward protecting resident data privacy and mitigating the local financial strain caused by massive AI data centers.

Florida’s lawsuit rides a broader wave of litigation and public backlash hitting Silicon Valley. Tech giants have historically shielded themselves behind laws stating they aren't liable for user-generated text. However, a major legal shift occurred when a court found Meta and Google liable for intentionally creating addictive designs for a young user. Florida's suit doubles down on this strategy, attacking OpenAI’s intentional design choices rather than the content itself.