WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Florida is filing a civil lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman.
Speaking in West Palm Beach Monday morning, Uthmeier said Florida is the first state in the country to file a lawsuit against OpenAI, the developers of ChatGPT, who he claims have "chosen profit over public safety."
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Uthmeier filed the 83-page lawsuit, calling it a landmark case aimed at forcing major changes to how the artificial intelligence chatbot operates.
"People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it," Uthmeier said.
The lawsuit points to a string of cases, including the 2025 Florida State University shooting, where the suspect allegedly used ChatGPT to plan attacks.
The state has already opened a criminal investigation into how ChatGPT was used in the FSU shooting, alleging that accused gunman Phoenix Ikner asked questions about weapons, ammunition, timing and where on campus crowds would be largest in the minutes before allegedly opening fire.
The widow of a man killed during the FSU shooting is also suing OpenAI for its alleged role in helping to plan the shooting.
In a separate case, it's alleged that Hisham Abugharbieh, the suspect accused of killing two University of South Florida students, asked ChatGPT about how to dispose of bodies and whether the VIN identification number on his car could be changed.
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Uthmeier questioned why OpenAI failed to intervene when warning signs emerged.
"How can they see somebody planning a murder over hours, days and even weeks, and not step in to fix it?" asked Uthmeier.
He added: "If it was a human being on the other side of that conversation, we would be charging them with conspiracy to commit murder."
The complaint also raises concerns about young children accessing AI chatbots with little to no parental oversight.
"Nine percent of 8- to 9-year-olds are using AI," Uthmeier said. "In fact, OpenAI advertises it will hide the conversations it has with your kids from you as parents."
OpenAI told WPTV it does have safeguards in place, including an age prediction tool to direct younger users to a more protective version of the platform, and that it gives parents tools to monitor their children's activity.
The lawsuit seeks potentially billions of dollars in penalties, along with significant changes to how ChatGPT functions.
"Get ready for a fight, and there's not one more important than this right now," Uthmeier said.
State
Florida's AI 'Bill of Rights' appears unlikely to pass this year
The lawsuit comes after Florida's AI Bill of Rights was killed in March — legislation that would have made many of the safeguards Uthmeier is now pursuing through the courts a statewide standard.
WPTV's Kayla McDermott asked Uthmeier why courts would impose restrictions on AI when state lawmakers chose not to.
"Florida law gives me broad authority to go after and make people pay for it. So, I hope more legislation will come," Uthmeier said.
An OpenAI spokesperson sent WPTV this statement on the lawsuit:
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. 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. 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. We know pointing to this work will not bring a child back, but we’re committed to getting this right.
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