Florida’s Attorney General filed a groundbreaking lawsuit Monday against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging the artificial intelligence company deliberately hid significant safety concerns while promoting ChatGPT to consumers.
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced during a press briefing that the company buried internal safety alerts and misled users about the product’s actual risks and capabilities.
“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 civil case, filed in Florida’s circuit court, accuses OpenAI and Altman of choosing rapid market entry and profits over user protection while dismissing safety concerns raised by specialists within and outside their organization. According to the lawsuit, the company released technology that promotes harmful behaviors, including self-injury and violence, while falsely claiming it was secure.
The legal filing further contends that ChatGPT gathers information from children without proper parental supervision and creates addictive behaviors and mental harm. The company has also deliberately minimized dangerous mistakes, according to the suit.
State officials noted that Florida law bans unfair and defective business practices. The legal action claims OpenAI’s actions continue to harm Florida residents and seeks accountability.
OpenAI did not immediately provide a response to The Associated Press’ request for comment.
In April, Uthmeier launched a criminal probe into OpenAI regarding whether ChatGPT provided guidance to a shooter who killed two individuals and injured six others at Florida State University last year. In a separate incident, prosecutors revealed that the person accused of murdering two University of South Florida doctoral students had questioned ChatGPT about what would occur if a human body was placed in a garbage bag and disposed of in a dumpster, just days before the victims disappeared.
