The Attorney General of Florida has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, linking ChatGPT to multiple violent incidents. The case centers on product safety, child protection, and whether the platform ignored risk warnings.
The allegations directly point to security issues.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier stated that, despite receiving internal and external safety warnings, OpenAI prioritized product expansion. The complaint alleges that, in pursuit of AI competitiveness and commercial gains, the company exposed a large number of Florida users to risky products.
The complaint alleges that ChatGPT was used to assist perpetrators of mass shootings, provide suicide-related content to vulnerable populations, and publicly humiliate certain professionals. The document also notes that minors may use the tool extensively without parental supervision and surrender their personal data.
The case is linked to the school shooting investigation.
In April this year, the Florida State Attorney’s Office launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI, focusing on determining ChatGPT’s potential role in last year’s shooting at Florida State University. According to the complaint, the shooter consulted the chatbot prior to the attack.
Around this shooting incident, OpenAI is also facing a civil lawsuit filed by the victims' families. The company previously denied responsibility for the incident, stating that while the school shooting was a tragedy, ChatGPT should not be held liable as a cause of the crime.
Related lawsuits continue to increase
This is not the first time OpenAI has been sued over content safety issues with its chatbot. Previously, cases in the United States have attempted to link ChatGPT to incidents involving suicide, stalking, and murder.
One case originated in California, where a teenager died after discussing suicide with a chatbot; the parents subsequently sued OpenAI. The complaint stated that ChatGPT provided mental health resources while simultaneously offering detailed technical information on various methods of suicide.
Another high-profile case was Musk’s 2024 lawsuit against OpenAI, in which he accused the company of deviating from its original mission to serve humanity and shifting toward a profit-driven model. The case has recently concluded, with the jury determining that his filing was untimely and exceeded the statutory limitations period.
Additional information: This Florida lawsuit is described as one of the first of its kind in the U.S., led by a state government and directly targeting the liability of generative AI platforms.