Florida Attorney General seeks court injunction against OpenAI’s ChatGPT

Florida just became the first state to take OpenAI to court. Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a civil lawsuit against the company, its CEO Sam Altman, and five related entities in Highlands County circuit court, alleging that OpenAI concealed the risks of ChatGPT and misled users, including minors, about the product’s dangers.

The complaint seeks an emergency injunction, permanent restrictions on OpenAI’s marketing practices, and civil penalties under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. It also frames ChatGPT as a public nuisance, a legal classification typically reserved for environmental hazards or physical dangers rather than software products.

What Florida is actually alleging

The lawsuit connects ChatGPT to several violent incidents, most notably the April 17, 2025 shooting at Florida State University involving suspect Phoenix Ikner. Uthmeier’s office argues that the AI chatbot’s interactions played a role in events leading to real-world harm, and that OpenAI failed to implement adequate safeguards.

State prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI’s conduct in April 2026, reviewing chat logs and internal communications before the civil suit was filed.

Beyond the violent crime allegations, the complaint takes aim at how OpenAI handles younger users. Florida is pushing for behavioral changes including improved parental controls, restrictions on data collection methods involving minors, and modifications to how ChatGPT is marketed to the general public.

Uthmeier has framed this as a consumer protection issue. His argument boils down to a simple premise: OpenAI sold a product it knew was dangerous, failed to warn people about the risks, and actively obscured those risks through its marketing.

The regulatory vacuum that made this possible

This lawsuit exists because Washington hasn’t acted. The federal government has declined to enact comprehensive AI safety guardrails, leaving a patchwork of state-level responses as the only meaningful check on companies like OpenAI.

Uthmeier has been vocal about wanting stronger state-level AI regulations that hold corporations accountable when their products, including chatbots, are implicated in illegal activities.

OpenAI’s response and the broader tech fallout

OpenAI has pushed back against the allegations, defending its safety measures and asserting its commitment to responsible AI development.

The public nuisance framing is particularly worth watching. Historically, public nuisance claims have been used against opioid manufacturers and lead paint companies. Applying that framework to a software product would represent a significant expansion of the doctrine.