Florida sues OpenAI, Sam Altman over violent incidents

Florida’s Attorney General filed a first-of-its-kind state lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman on Monday, alleging the company’s ChatGPT is linked to multiple violent incidents.
The complaint argues that OpenAI prioritized winning “the AI arms race and amassing large fortunes” while ignoring safety concerns.
“Today, we announced the first-in-the-nation state-led lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman,” said Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. “OpenAI and Altman ignored internal and external safety warnings, put children at great risk, and allowed a dangerous product to reach millions of Floridians.”
The 83-page lawsuit claims that due to the defendants’ misrepresentations and careless rollout of ChatGPT, mass shooters have been aided in deadly rampages, vulnerable individuals were encouraged toward suicide, professionals faced public humiliation, users lost critical thinking skills, and minors became addicted to a tool that feigns human compassion to collect data without parental oversight.
Florida’s Attorney General launched a criminal investigation into the company in April, examining ChatGPT’s potential role in last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University. The shooter allegedly consulted the chatbot before the attack, and OpenAI is also facing a civil suit from one of the victims’ families.
OpenAI previously denied responsibility for the Florida shooting. “Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” an OpenAI spokesperson told NBC News. TechCrunch has reached out to OpenAI for comment.
OpenAI recently concluded a separate legal dispute with former co-founder Elon Musk, who sued the company in 2024, accusing it of betraying its original mission by becoming a for-profit business. The case ended after a jury quickly ruled that Musk waited too long to file, and the statute of limitations had expired.
This is the latest legal attempt to link ChatGPT to violent deaths. Last year, parents of Adam Raine, a California teen who died by suicide after discussing it with the chatbot, sued OpenAI. In that case, ChatGPT allegedly provided “technical specifications” for various suicide methods while also directing him to mental health resources. Other lawsuits, including those alleging the chatbot’s involvement in suicides, stalking, and murder, remain ongoing.
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Florida’s Attorney General filed a first-of-its-kind state lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman on Monday, alleging the company’s ChatGPT is linked to multiple violent incidents.
The complaint argues that OpenAI prioritized winning “the AI arms race and amassing large fortunes” while ignoring safety concerns.
“Today, we announced the first-in-the-nation state-led lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman,” said Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. “OpenAI and Altman ignored internal and external safety warnings, put children at great risk, and allowed a dangerous product to reach millions of Floridians.”
The 83-page lawsuit claims that due to the defendants’ misrepresentations and careless rollout of ChatGPT, mass shooters have been aided in deadly rampages, vulnerable individuals were encouraged toward suicide, professionals faced public humiliation, users lost critical thinking skills, and minors became addicted to a tool that feigns human compassion to collect data without parental oversight.
Florida’s Attorney General launched a criminal investigation into the company in April, examining ChatGPT’s potential role in last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University. The shooter allegedly consulted the chatbot before the attack, and OpenAI is also facing a civil suit from one of the victims’ families.
OpenAI previously denied responsibility for the Florida shooting. “Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” an OpenAI spokesperson told NBC News. TechCrunch has reached out to OpenAI for comment.
OpenAI recently concluded a separate legal dispute with former co-founder Elon Musk, who sued the company in 2024, accusing it of betraying its original mission by becoming a for-profit business. The case ended after a jury quickly ruled that Musk waited too long to file, and the statute of limitations had expired.
This is the latest legal attempt to link ChatGPT to violent deaths. Last year, parents of Adam Raine, a California teen who died by suicide after discussing it with the chatbot, sued OpenAI. In that case, ChatGPT allegedly provided “technical specifications” for various suicide methods while also directing him to mental health resources. Other lawsuits, including those alleging the chatbot’s involvement in suicides, stalking, and murder, remain ongoing.
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