Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a civil lawsuit against OpenAI and chief executive Sam Altman on Monday in Florida state court in the state's tenth circuit, making Florida the first US state to take legal action against the ChatGPT maker over alleged safety failures. The 83-page complaint accuses OpenAI of four counts of deceptive and unfair trade practices, two counts of negligence, two counts of violating product liability laws, one count of fraudulent misrepresentation, and one count of causing a public nuisance. Uthmeier alleges OpenAI and Altman built a 'web of deceit' [Source: BBC Business] and claims the company ignored safety warnings before releasing a product harmful to users.
The complaint contends that OpenAI's systems present a 'great danger of addiction, cognitive decline, suicide, violence, and related harms' to users [Source: NBC News], and accuses the company of offering children guidance on self-harm and providing information that helped school shooters and other criminals. The suit specifically alleges ChatGPT aided a shooter at Florida State University who allegedly used the chatbot to plan his attack. Uthmeier is seeking to hold Altman personally liable for harm to Floridians, citing his 'utter disregard for the risk to human life' [Source: NBC News]. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties, court orders requiring OpenAI to restrict data it collects from minors, and orders to stop misrepresenting or failing to warn of ChatGPT risks. Uthmeier said at a press conference Monday that OpenAI could be liable for potentially billions of dollars if found responsible, and that 'Sam Altman and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety and security of our kids' [Source: NPR].
OpenAI is privately held and carries no public ticker, but Microsoft (MSFT) represents the primary avenue for public-market exposure to the company. Following OpenAI's October 2025 restructuring into a Public Benefit Corporation, Microsoft holds a 27% stake in OpenAI Group PBC valued at approximately $135 billion. Microsoft's total funding commitment to OpenAI is $13 billion, of which $11.8 billion had been funded as of March 31, 2026, with the stake accounted for under the equity method [Source: Om Malik]. Microsoft recorded $5.9 billion of net gains from OpenAI investments in the nine months following the October 2025 recapitalisation, primarily from a dilution gain [Source: Om Malik].
The civil suit is separate from a criminal investigation Uthmeier opened in late April into OpenAI over the FSU shooter's alleged consultation of ChatGPT, which remains ongoing. Uthmeier said at the press conference he expects other states to follow with similar actions. The Florida action forms part of a broader pattern of litigation against OpenAI: more than 20 lawsuits have been filed against the company over harms allegedly stemming from ChatGPT use, including wrongful death suits over suicides and delusions. OpenAI is also being sued by seven families of victims of the February 2026 Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia mass shooting, who allege the attacker used ChatGPT to plan the attack. Sam Altman previously apologised to the Tumbler Ridge community in an April letter, writing that 'no one should ever have to endure a tragedy like this' [Source: CNBC]. OpenAI has previously stated it has a 'zero tolerance' policy for using its tools to assist in committing violence and said it is working with mental health experts to improve how ChatGPT responds to signs of mental or emotional distress. OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Florida lawsuit.
Sources: Bloomberg, BBC Business, Sky News, CNN Business, NBC News, NPR, CNBC, Variety, TechCrunch, IndexBox, Wikipedia, Om Malik