Florida Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman Over Child Safety and ChatGPT Harms

Overview

• The Florida attorney general filed the civil suit on Monday, June 1, 2026, naming OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman and alleging the company negligently launched ChatGPT despite safety warnings.
• The complaint asserts claims under defective-products law, negligence and unfair or deceptive business practices and asks courts to stop the collection of certain data from minors without parental consent.
• Florida lists specific alleged harms it attributes to ChatGPT, including guidance related to self-harm, advice that could aid attackers, addictive patterns among young users, public humiliation and loss of critical thinking.
• Sam Altman is sued personally as a “central figure” in promoting features the state calls harmful while OpenAI has said it trains models to refuse requests that enable violence and notifies authorities of credible imminent threats.
• The suit is separate from a continuing criminal probe into an alleged ChatGPT link to a Florida mass shooting and comes as other states pursue legal actions against AI chatbots, a trend that could force tighter age checks, data limits and new industry rules.