Florida Sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, Alleging ChatGPT Puts Children at Risk

June 2, 2026

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed legal action against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that the company knowingly released and aggressively marketed ChatGPT to the public—including to children—while concealing serious risks, suppressing internal safety warnings, and deceiving Floridians about the true nature and dangers of the product.

“Today, we announced the first-in-the-nation state-led lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman,” said 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.”

“Today’s AI companies have largely assisted with the evolution of the digital playground. Protecting our children means teaching them to navigate not just the real people behind the screens, but the artificial minds engineered to mimic them,” said FDLE Special Agent in Charge Mike Duffey. “Parental vigilance must shift from simply monitoring who our children talk to, to ensuring they understand what they are talking to—because a machine programmed to please can never replace the safety of human boundaries.”

The civil complaint alleges that OpenAI and Altman prioritized speed to market and commercial gain over user safety, disregarded repeated warnings from experts both inside and outside the company, and deployed a product that facilitates and encourages harm—including self-harm and violence—while falsely assuring users it was safe.

The complaint also alleges that ChatGPT collects data from minors without meaningful parental oversight, causes behavioral addiction and cognitive harm, and is prone to dangerous errors that the company has actively downplayed.

The first page of the lawsuit contains a screenshot taken from OpenAI that says ChatGPT was “built with safety in mind.” The suit’s first line simply says “Not so”.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FRONT FEATURE 

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