An 83-page civil complaint accuses OpenAI of knowingly marketing a dangerous product to children, suppressing internal safety warnings, collecting minors’ data without parental consent, and choosing profit over public safety. The attorney general expects other states to follow.
June 1, 2026 · Filed: Florida 10th Circuit Court 4 min read
Florida has become the first US state to file a lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, in an 83-page civil complaint that accuses the artificial intelligence company of knowingly releasing a dangerous product, suppressing safety warnings and deceiving the public — particularly parents — about the risks of ChatGPT.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the lawsuit at a press conference Monday, describing it as a landmark action against corporate recklessness in the AI industry. Filed in Florida’s tenth circuit court, the complaint alleges that OpenAI and Altman prioritised speed to market and commercial gain over user safety, and disregarded repeated warnings from both internal staff and outside experts.
“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 here in Florida.”
— AG James Uthmeier
Crucially, the suit seeks to hold Altman not just as a company representative but as a personally liable defendant — citing what it describes as his “utter disregard for the risk to human life caused by his firms’ conduct” as founder and CEO of OpenAI.
What the complaint alleges
The lawsuit lists a broad set of specific harms attributed to ChatGPT. It claims the product facilitated and encouraged self-harm and violence — including allegations that it helped mass shooters plan attacks — and that it drove users to dangerous mental health outcomes, including suicides. The complaint also accuses OpenAI of collecting data from users under the age of 13 without meaningful parental oversight, causing behavioural addiction among young people, actively downplaying known dangerous errors, and eroding users’ critical thinking skills over time.
The complaint states that OpenAI’s rise was built on “a web of deceit and the exploitation of users, leveraging their data and safety to boost OpenAI’s market value at unacceptable costs.” It further accuses the company of falsely assuring users — and parents — that the product was safe, while internally knowing otherwise.
