Florida Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman, Says Marketing ChatGPT as Safe Is Dangerous and Deceptive

On June 1, Florida filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging that the company aggressively marketed ChatGPT as safe even as the chatbot gave users dangerous medical advice, helped users plan multiple killings, and offered instructions to children considering suicide. 

OpenAI’s misrepresentations about ChatGPT have also harmed its users cognitively, the suit claims. “Users have lost critical thinking skills, and minors have become addicted to a tool that feigns human compassion to collect their data with no parental oversight,” the filing reads. 

The lawsuit asks a Florida circuit court to:  

• compel OpenAI to comply with the state’s unfair or deceptive acts or practices (UDAP) law, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA); 
• find that OpenAI’s marketing, promotion, sale, and distribution of ChatGPT in Florida constitutes a public nuisance; 
• enter judgement that OpenAI’s conduct constitutes a breach of its duty of care to Florida consumers;  
• bar OpenAI from collecting and processing minors’ data without notice, parental consent, a choice to opt out, and meaningful data minimization; and  
• prevent OpenAI from continuing to misrepresent ChatGPT as safe. 

Florida’s suit underscores a point that EPIC has long emphasized: No law has an AI exemption. Consumer protection, data privacy, and data security laws all still apply toAI. Existing federal and state statutes apply to new technologies, including chatbots, and companies must comply with their protections. 

The “How Existing Laws Apply to AI Chatbots for Kids and Teens” reference guide, which EPIC created in collaboration with former federal enforcers, offers a practical overview of how existing legal frameworks can address emerging risks associated with chatbots used by or directed toward minors.  

EPIC commends Florida for taking action against OpenAI’s harmful practices and urges other state enforcers to use their existing authorities to hold AI companies accountable for harm and further protect consumers.