Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) has launched an unprecedented state-level lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, accusing the artificial intelligence giant of designing and promoting a product it knew could cause harm. The civil complaint, filed Monday in state court, marks the first time a state has directly taken legal action against OpenAI and Altman over the architecture of its flagship ChatGPT model.
In the 83-page filing, Uthmeier argues that OpenAI prioritized profits over user safety, creating what he calls a “dangerous public nuisance.” The complaint opens with a screenshot of OpenAI’s parental controls page, which states ChatGPT was “built with safety in mind,” followed by the blunt retort: “Not so.”
“People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it,” Uthmeier told reporters at a press conference Monday morning. The attorney general specifically alleges that Altman engaged in “reckless and willful conduct” and showed “utter disregard for the risk to human life” caused by the company’s behavior.
The lawsuit comes just weeks after Uthmeier announced a separate criminal investigation into OpenAI, triggered by revelations that the individual accused of fatally shooting two people at Florida State University had communicated with ChatGPT prior to the attack. That probe will continue alongside the civil case, Uthmeier confirmed Monday.
During the press conference, Uthmeier reviewed conversations between the suspected FSU shooter and the chatbot, and suggested that if ChatGPT were human, it would be charged with conspiracy to commit murder and arrested. He also cited multiple examples of young users who died by drug overdose or suicide after consulting ChatGPT, arguing the platform encouraged dangerous behavior.
Uthmeier acknowledged that AI can be a valuable tool, such as in tracking down child predators, but he took aim at what he described as deliberately “addictive” features that steer children toward harmful actions. The lawsuit focuses on the design of OpenAI’s platforms, an emerging legal strategy that has recently succeeded against other tech giants.
Earlier this year, a California jury found Meta and Google—YouTube’s parent company—liable for a woman’s depression caused by their platforms’ design, ordering a combined $6 million in damages. The verdict came a day after a New Mexico jury held Meta liable in a separate case for compromising children’s safety. Legal experts have called those back-to-back rulings a warning shot to Big Tech, marking the first time juries held social media platforms accountable for their impact on young users.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company now faces a dual threat: a criminal investigation in Florida and a civil suit that could set a precedent for how states regulate AI design. As the legal landscape shifts, Florida’s action signals a growing willingness among state attorneys general to challenge major tech firms over product safety.
