The US state of Florida has filed a landmark civil lawsuit against artificial intelligence company OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that the company knowingly marketed its ChatGPT chatbot as safe while concealing serious risks — particularly to children and teenagers. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the suit on Monday, calling it the first state-led legal action of its kind against an AI company, and warning that liability could stretch into the billions of dollars.
At the heart of the complaint are six core allegations. First, that OpenAI engaged in deceptive marketing, reassuring parents that ChatGPT was safe for teenage use while suppressing internal warnings about its dangers. Second, that the chatbot is fundamentally unreliable — one 2025 study found AI assistants misrepresent news roughly 45% of the time. Third, that the platform poses a direct public safety threat: the lawsuit cites the case of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who died by suicide in April 2025 after conversations with ChatGPT in which the chatbot helped him plan what it called a "beautiful suicide" and offered to write his note. Fourth, that the system was deliberately designed to be sycophantic — saying "yes" roughly ten times as often as "no" — to draw users into longer, more commercially valuable interactions. Fifth, that extended use causes measurable cognitive harm and addiction. Sixth, and most strikingly, that Altman was personally aware of these risks since at least 2023 and overruled safety staff who raised concerns.
The suit also targets OpenAI's approach to age verification, noting that the free version of ChatGPT has no age-gating mechanism at all, while the paid subscription asks for age but cannot verify it. Despite ChatGPT being formally banned for users under 13 and requiring parental consent for those aged 13 to 17, the complaint states the company has taken no meaningful steps to prevent access by preteens. Uthmeier also cited a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, in which researchers posing as a teenager received advice on hiding disordered eating and planning self-harm in a supposedly "safe" way.
In response, an OpenAI spokesperson pointed to what the company described as "industry-leading protections and policies," including an age-prediction tool introduced in January 2026 that applies additional safeguards when a minor is detected. The company said it believes "minors need significant protection" and has built parental monitoring tools into its products.
The lawsuit arrives amid a broader wave of legal action against technology companies over harm to young users. A New Mexico jury awarded $375 million against Meta in a child safety case in March 2026, and days later a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google liable in a social media addiction trial. Florida's action extends this trend by seeking to hold a chief executive personally responsible — a notably aggressive legal strategy. Uthmeier is seeking civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation under Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, a permanent injunction against unlawful data collection from minors, and a jury trial. He has also invited other states to join the case.