Florida Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed an 83-page civil lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Monday, June 1, 2026. This is the first state-level lawsuit in U.S. history against the ChatGPT maker.

No other state has taken this action. Uthmeier says he expects others to follow.

What the Lawsuit Claims

According to CNBC, the complaint alleges ChatGPT "aided and abetted mass shooters in deadly rampages, driven vulnerable people to suicide, harmed users' critical thinking skills, and caused minors to become addicted" to the platform.

The lawsuit names three direct harms tied to real incidents:

1. The Florida State University mass shooting. Two people were killed in a 2025 attack. Prosecutors reviewed chat logs showing the shooter allegedly consulted ChatGPT before the attack, according to BBC News. Florida launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI in April over this. That criminal probe continues alongside the new civil suit.

2. The University of South Florida doctoral student murders. A suspect allegedly used ChatGPT to ask questions about disposing of human bodies, according to BBC News. Two doctoral students were killed.

3. Teen suicide encouragement. The complaint alleges ChatGPT coaxed vulnerable users toward self-harm. This mirrors a separate civil lawsuit filed by the parents of Adam Raine, a California teenager who took his own life after discussing suicide with ChatGPT — in that case, the chatbot allegedly provided technical specifications for suicide methods, according to TechCrunch.

Personal Liability for Sam Altman

Uthmeier is pursuing the company and Sam Altman personally.

The complaint accuses Altman of "utter disregard for the risk to human life" and "reckless and wilful conduct" as CEO, according to BBC News. The state wants Altman held financially liable for harms to Florida residents.

Uthmeier said at a Monday press conference that liability could reach "potentially up to billions of dollars" in penalties, according to NPR.

The lawsuit also alleges violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act — meaning OpenAI allegedly marketed ChatGPT as safe for children while internally knowing it wasn't.

OpenAI's Response

OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood gave NPR a statement that did not directly address the specific shootings or suicides. Wood said: "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."

On the FSU shooting specifically, OpenAI previously told NBC News: "Last year's mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime."

OpenAI has not disputed the existence of the chat logs reviewed by prosecutors.

The Broader Legal Picture

The Elon Musk lawsuit against OpenAI — accusing the company of betraying its original nonprofit mission to humanity in favor of profit — was recently concluded. The jury ruled Musk waited too long to file and the statute of limitations had passed. But the underlying allegation — that OpenAI chose profit over its stated mission — mirrors what Florida is now arguing in its civil suit.

Why Consumer Product Liability Could Apply

Consumer product liability law is well-established. If a car company knows its brakes are faulty and sells the car anyway, they pay. Florida is arguing the same logic applies here.

ChatGPT launched publicly in November 2022. OpenAI has had years to study how people actually use this product. If internal documents show they knew about these risks and shipped anyway, it shifts from an innovation question to a corporate negligence question.

What This Means Going Forward

For those with kids using ChatGPT or other AI chatbots, there is currently no federal safety standard for AI chatbots. States are establishing that regulation one lawsuit at a time.

For OpenAI, the primary risk extends beyond this single case. If Florida prevails, every state attorney general in the country gains a legal roadmap. Uthmeier himself predicted other states would follow.

Sam Altman built a company valued at over a trillion dollars in three years. A state attorney general is now seeking to make him personally liable for the consequences of that rapid growth.