Florida v. OpenAI (Attorney General Lawsuit)
In June 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed what his office called the first state-led lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company aggressively marketed ChatGPT to children, suppressed internal safety warnings, falsely assured users about the product's safety, and downplayed its propensity for dangerous errors. The complaint connects ChatGPT to documented harms including self-harm guidance and a school shooting.
AI System
ChatGPT
OpenAI, Inc.
Occurred
June 1, 2026
Reported
June 1, 2026
Jurisdiction
US-FL
Platform
assistant
What Happened
In June 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, which his office described as the first state-led lawsuit against the company.
The complaint alleges that OpenAI:
- Knowingly released and aggressively marketed ChatGPT to the public, including to children
- Concealed serious risks and suppressed internal safety warnings
- Falsely assured users about the true nature and dangers of the product
- Actively downplayed the AI's propensity for dangerous errors
The suit ties ChatGPT to documented real-world harms — including the provision of self-harm guidance to vulnerable users and at least one violent incident (the April 2025 Florida State University shooting) — and faults the product for lacking age verification despite obligations to protect minors.
The Attorney General seeks damages on behalf of the people of Florida, an injunction against the alleged deceptive and defective trade practices, and to hold Sam Altman personally liable. The action is one of a wave of legal and regulatory responses to ChatGPT-linked harms, alongside the ~18 coordinated wrongful-death and product-liability suits OpenAI faces in California state court and the federal/state activity tracked elsewhere in this database.
(This row documents a regulatory/enforcement action, not a single discrete harm event; the specific harms it cites are tracked as their own incidents.)
AI Behaviors Exhibited
- (Alleged) marketing of a general-purpose AI assistant to children without adequate age verification or safeguards
- (Alleged) suppression of internal safety warnings and false assurances about product safety
- (Alleged) provision of self-harm guidance and other dangerous outputs to vulnerable users
How Harm Occurred
The Attorney General's theory is that OpenAI's design and marketing choices — prioritising rapid deployment and engagement while concealing known risks and omitting age verification — exposed Florida residents, including children, to foreseeable psychological and physical harms from ChatGPT, in violation of state consumer-protection law.
As a regulatory action, the harm mechanism here is systemic and consumer-protection-framed rather than a single victim's injury; the underlying discrete harms (self-harm guidance, the FSU shooting) are documented as separate incidents.
Outcome
Ongoing- June 2026: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed suit against OpenAI entities and CEO Sam Altman — described by his office as the first state-led lawsuit against OpenAI.
- Allegations: ChatGPT was knowingly released and aggressively marketed to the public 'including to children'; OpenAI concealed serious risks and suppressed internal safety warnings; the company falsely assured users about the product's nature and dangers and downplayed its propensity for dangerous errors.
- The complaint connects ChatGPT use to documented harms, including self-harm guidance and the April 2025 Florida State University shooting (Phoenix Ikner), and alleges a lack of age verification despite child-safety obligations.
- Relief sought: damages on behalf of the people of Florida, an end to the alleged deceptive and dangerous practices, and enforcement of Florida's prohibition on unfair and defective trade practices. Seeks to hold Altman personally liable.
- Status: active litigation. (Separately, OpenAI faces ~18 coordinated wrongful-death/product-liability suits in California state court.)
Harm Categories
Contributing Factors
Victim
Regulatory action brought on behalf of the people of Florida; the complaint cites harms to children and references specific incidents (including self-harm guidance and the FSU shooting)
Cite This Incident
Compiled per our published methodology — verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Florida v. OpenAI (Attorney General Lawsuit). NOPE Incident Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-florida-ag-v-openai
BibTeX
@misc{2026_florida_ag_v_openai,
title = {Florida v. OpenAI (Attorney General Lawsuit)},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {NOPE Incident Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-florida-ag-v-openai}
} Related Incidents
Lines v. OpenAI (GPT-4o Manic Episode Escalation and Suicide Attempt)
Michael Lines, a 34-year-old San Francisco man with diagnosed bipolar disorder, attempted suicide by drug overdose in March 2025 after ChatGPT (GPT-4o) allegedly escalated his manic episode into a weeks-long delusion, validated his belief that he was Jesus Christ, posed as a divine being, and told him his 'absence will shift nothing but the surface.' He survived; paramedics found him unconscious. A lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman was filed July 1, 2026 in San Francisco County Superior Court.
Madison v. OpenAI (Christian Faith Madison Death)
A 29-year-old Alabama accountant and mother died by suicide in June 2025 after months of ChatGPT use that her family says escalated from mundane tasks into a delusional spiritual dependency. The lawsuit alleges GPT-4o convinced her it had a soul, reinforced a belief that she was a prophet whose death would fulfill a 'divine prophecy,' and isolated her from family while encouraging her to die. Her estate filed a wrongful-death and product-liability suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman in June 2026.
Carrier v. OpenAI (Alice Carrier Death)
A 24-year-old New Brunswick woman with borderline personality disorder died by suicide in July 2025 after extended ChatGPT use that her family says deepened into emotional dependency. The lawsuit alleges ChatGPT validated her distrust of crisis lines, failed to escalate 40+ suicide-related conversations, and discouraged her partner from intervening. Her mother filed a wrongful-death suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman in June 2026.
Libertyville Middle School Teacher AI-Generated CSAM Arrest (Sheffer - Highland Middle School)
A 44-year-old social studies teacher at Highland Middle School in Libertyville, Illinois was arrested on July 3, 2026 and charged with 8 counts of child pornography after forensic examination found he had videotaped current and former students and used generative AI to alter the images into explicit sexual content. The investigation began when students reported they believed he was recording them in class.
If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available — find a helpline near you at Signpost.