Published On 3/6/2026
The state of Florida has accused the American artificial intelligence company OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, of launching and marketing “GBT Chat” without disclosing the risks the model poses, which includes guiding children who are contemplating suicide and helping suspects plan crimes, according to an Associated Press report.
The report stated that OpenAI obstructed the efforts of internal safety teams, ignored their warnings, and deceived users about the nature of the risks present in GPT Chat. Thus, the state of Florida was the first to face OpenAI in court.
The case cites two shooting incidents. Investigations revealed that the defendants relied on GPT chat to plan their crimes.
For its part, OpenAI confirmed in a statement that the form requested the accused to obtain assistance from mental health experts, as well as its unconditional cooperation with the authorities to complete the investigations and reach their conclusion.
She added, “GBT Chat is a multi-purpose tool used by hundreds of millions of users daily,” noting the continuous improvements the company is making to internal safety policies and the restrictions placed in the tool to detect bad intentions and misuse.
The company’s statement also confirmed the presence of safety measures for minors in its products that make the experience safer, as well as providing a tool to predict age using artificial intelligence and providing parents with the necessary information.
In a related context, the NBC News report reveals the ultimate goal of the case, as it is not looking for a criminal conviction for the company or Altman, but instead is seeking to impose sanctions and issue an injunction.
Florida Attorney General James Othmeier explained that this case is separate from the criminal investigation that began in late April into the company, noting that that investigation is still ongoing.
He added: “Sam Altman and OpenAI ignored internal and external warnings about GPT chat, and left a dangerous product reaching millions of citizens in Florida.”
The lawsuit describes the rise of OpenAI and ChatGPT as “based on a web of deception and exploitation of user data and safety to enhance the company’s market value.”
A stream of issues
This lawsuit is added to a growing list of cases against OpenAI and Altman, perhaps the most prominent of which is the lawsuit filed by Elon Musk, the famous businessman and one of the former founders of OpenAI.
Musk stood before Altman in the courts during the past weeks, accusing him of transforming OpenAI from a non-profit organization seeking to provide artificial intelligence to all users around the world, into a company seeking to make profit without caring about the risks of artificial intelligence, according to an NBC report.
There is also a group of lawsuits against the company due to allegations that “GBT Chat” exacerbates mental health crises and incites acts of violence, after the company faced seven cases last November, according to a report by the British newspaper “The Guardian”.
The report states that Othmeyer’s legal attack against “GPT Chat” and “OpenAI” represents a break from the position of many of his Republican colleagues and US President Donald Trump, who has strengthened his relationship with Altman and other technology pioneers.
According to the report, this relationship contributed to easing the severity of regulatory restrictions on the artificial intelligence sector in general, and previously disrupted executive orders that required an intensive government review of artificial intelligence tools.
