Florida Attorney General Sues OpenAI, Alleges ChatGPT Poses Serious Public Harm

On June 1, 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier officially filed the first state-led lawsuit in the United States against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman. The lawsuit alleges that the company intentionally released ChatGPT to the public despite serious risks, including allowing minors to use it, while concealing the product's true dangers, suppressing internal safety warnings, and deceiving Florida residents. In a statement, the Attorney General stressed that this is the first state-level lawsuit targeting OpenAI and its CEO, aiming to hold them responsible for user harm.

This lawsuit is not an isolated incident. Previously, in April 2026, the Florida Attorney General had launched a formal investigation into OpenAI to determine whether ChatGPT was linked to the 2025 shooting at Florida State University. Meanwhile, families of victims of a mass shooting in Canada also filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in the San Francisco federal court, accusing the company of automatically flagging firearm-related conversations in June 2025 but choosing not to notify law enforcement, ultimately allowing the shooter to use ChatGPT to plan the attack. OpenAI responded that the shooting was a "tragedy" but denied all allegations and stated that it had strengthened safety measures.

Commentary and Outlook: From state-level lawsuits to multiple civil claims, OpenAI is facing an unprecedented legal and regulatory storm. The boundaries between AI product safety and corporate responsibility need judicial clarification. If multiple allegations are upheld, it could not only reshape compliance standards for the AI industry but also force all AI companies to conduct more rigorous risk assessments before releasing products.