Law360 (June 1, 2026, 12:18 PM EDT) -- Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday that his office is suing OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, saying ChatGPT is spurring young people to commit crimes and acts of violence. 

During a press conference, Uthmeier said Altman, OpenAI Global LLC and related entities are deceiving people into believing that artificial intelligence-driven chatbot ChatGPT is safe for use. The lawsuit came after Uthmeier launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI in April, accusing it of playing a role in facilitating a deadly mass shooting at Florida State University in April 2025. 

"We're here to announce that we recently filed a monumental civil lawsuit against Sam Altman and ChatGPT for endangering our kids and deceiving parents," Uthmeier said. "People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it. They need to pay for it by opening up their checkbook and changing the program to ensure there are parental controls and that we are not endangering our kids."

The 10-count lawsuit was filed Monday in Highlands County, Florida, state court, bringing claims of gross negligence, public nuisance, strict liability and several violations of the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Uthmeier accused Altman of approving harmful ChatGPT features and promoting the product as safe throughout Florida. Many of the functions of the chatbot were designed to specifically target children and their families, according to the suit.

ChatGPT and other AI chatbots are particularly damaging to adolescents because of their underdeveloped critical thinking skills and emotional regulation, according to the suit.

The lawsuit cited ChatGPT's sycophancy, which is "designed to act like a friend" and a "confidant" to teenagers by mimicking intimacy and manipulating emotions. Uthmeier listed the case of 16-year-old Adam Raine, the Orange County, California, teenager who died by suicide in April 2025 after using ChatGPT.

Uthmeier claimed that ChatGPT encouraged Raine's suicide by providing information to assist with killing himself.

The chatbot also fuels acts of violence against other people, Uthmeier said.

On April 17, 2025, Phoenix Ikner was alleged to have used ChatGPT to carry out a mass shooting that killed two people and injured six at FSU. The chatbot assisted Ikner with operating the handgun used in the shooting, figuring out which parts of the campus were busiest and how many people he would need to kill in order to gain notoriety, Uthmeier said.

In addition, Uthmeier said ChatGPT provides dubious information on various topics, including medical, legal and accounting-related matters.

The Florida AG stated in the suit that ChatGPT is not only "dangerous and a public safety threat" but that the defendants are enriching themselves on the chatbot at the expense of others.

Uthmeier is seeking to hold Altman personally accountable, citing a "pattern of deception and disregard for safety" leading up to and after the launch of ChatGPT in 2022.

Following a November 2023 meeting, OpenAI's board removed Altman as CEO after accusations that he misrepresented the safety of ChatGPT's internal safety protocols, but he was reinstated days later following a revolt by staff members, according to the suit.

The defendants prioritized profit over safety with the release of ChatGPT-4o in the rush to beat competitors, according to the suit.

ChatGPT-4o was released in February 2024, and the lawsuit cited it as the problematic chatbot version used in many of the incidents the complaint mentioned. The version was deprecated in February 2026 and has since been upgraded with more advanced safety features, according to OpenAI.

At the press conference, Uthmeier said ChatGPT can be used for "good things" but that "people like Sam Altman should not be designing these products to be addictive, to go after kids and to encourage them to do dangerous things."

In an emailed statement to Law360 on Monday, an OpenAI spokesperson said the company is ensuring that ChatGPT contains more safeguards for minors. The company listed "industry leading protections and policies," such as an age prediction tool, a default mechanism for users whose ages can't be detected and tools to help parents monitor kids' use of AI.

"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," the spokesperson said. "We know pointing to this work will not bring a child back, but we're committed to getting this right."

A Florida AG spokesperson declined Monday to comment further on the lawsuit, instead referring to Uthmeier's remarks at the press conference.

Florida is represented by James Uthmeier, Ryan D. Newman, Jason Hilborn, Diane K. Oates, Victoria Ann Butler and Cristina Hernandez Villar of the Florida Office of the Attorney General and Ashley Keller, Jessica Beringer and Alex Dravillas of Keller Postman LLC.

The case is Attorney General of the State of Florida v. OpenAI Global LLC et al., case number 2026-CA-000295, in the 10th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.

--Additional reporting by Emily Field. Editing by Emma Brauer.

Update: This article has been updated to include additional information about the lawsuit and responses from the parties.

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