ChatGPT creators knew product would cause harm, Florida argues in lawsuit

This story was originally published by the Florida Phoenix.

OpenAI should’ve known the damage its chatbot would cause, the state argues in a lawsuit against ChatGPT’s creators.

In an 83-page filing in state circuit court in Highlands County, the Florida Department of Legal Affairs and Attorney General James Uthmeier laid ChatGPT’s rollout and management side-by-side with instances in which the technology has been consulted or involved in tragedy, including the 2025 mass shooting on campus of Florida State University.

The complaint opens with a screenshot of ChatGPT’s parental control policy stating, “Built with safety in mind.” The AG’s first words in the brief: “Not so.”

ChatGPT has become a household name. With that came financial growth. At the end of 2024, ChatGPT generated $1 billion per quarter. As of a month ago, it generated $2 billion per month. 

“This success has not been earned; the rise of OpenAI is attributable to a web of deceit and the exploitation of users (including Floridians), leveraging their data and safety to boost OpenAI’s market value at unacceptable costs,” the state argued, emphasizing that a rapid rollout of the product puts consumers at risk. 

The state seeks monetary damages, disgorgement, restitution, civil penalties, equitable relief, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees and costs. The lawsuit alleges OpenAI violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and seeks to hold OpenAI CEO Sam Altman personally liable for his “reckless and willful conduct.”

OpenAI has not yet responded to a Phoenix request for comment but issued a written statement to NPR.

“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 company said.

“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.”

The state alleges ChatGPT is a “public nuisance.”

The suit references various studies finding negative effects of the technology on mental health, academic performance, and more.

The lawsuit references the FSU shooting, in which the alleged gunman consulted ChatGPT seeking information about other shooters’ notoriety and how to use his guns. The state goes on to mention other instances in which a crime was committed after a criminal consulted ChatGPT.

“As these examples show, ChatGPT proactively aids, abets, and promotes dangerous activities and is a threat to the public safety of Floridians,” the suit alleges. 

Uthmeier touts it as a first in the nation lawsuit. 

The AG says OpenAI’s advertisements show how useful ChatGPT can be to scale a business, manage healthcare, and other tasks but do not disclose that the tool makes mistakes or hallucinate information.

“Despite Defendants’ marketing that ChatGPT is a reliable aid for almost any of life’s daily affairs, the plain truth is that it is shockingly unreliable,” the lawsuit alleges. 

The filing points to attorneys across the country who’ve relied on the tool to compose court filings, leading to documents containing hallucinated information. Last week, the Florida Supreme Court introduced an artificial intelligence policy. 

The state is asking to permanently enjoin OpenAI from collecting data from people younger than 13 without providing notice and parental consent. 

“The free version of ChatGPT has no gatekeeping or age verification mechanism whatsoever. While ChatGPT’s paid subscription nominally asks users to provide their age, there is no mechanism to verify the age of its users, and no ability to inform parents of what conversations minors are having with ChatGPT,” the state alleges. 

“ChatGPT does not send reports of a child’s activity to parents, or otherwise alert parents if a child accesses concerning content other than if the additional (voluntary) step of linking an account has been set up, and even then, only in ‘limited situations.’ In no event can a parent request access to what information a child has provided ChatGPT.”

The state launched a criminal investigation into the company in April.

“The dangers of ChatGPT proactively providing advice and suggestions about self-harm or violence that have led to several deaths in Florida, along with the cognitive decline and behavioral addiction of Florida teens, outweigh any benefits of having an available AI chatbot,” the suit states. 

The suit goes into Sam Altman’s professional history, alleging his “dangerous and deceptive management of OpenAI” as it evolved from a smaller nonprofit into the AI giant it is today. 

“Unless Defendants are temporarily and permanently enjoined from engaging further in the acts and practices complained of herein, Defendants’ actions will continue to result in irreparable injury to the public for which there is no adequate remedy at law.”

The state is seeking a jury trial. 

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.