Il Nuovo Postiglione - Florida sues OpenAI, CEO Altman over ChatGPT harm to minors

NYSE - LSE

RYCEF	3.23%	17.04	$
CMSC	0.22%	22.35	$
RBGPF	0%	60.72	$
VOD	1.38%	15.26	$
NGG	1.4%	81.52	$
BCE	-0.57%	24.57	$
GSK	3.2%	52.86	$
RIO	4.42%	103.64	$
BTI	0.44%	61.39	$
BP	-0.63%	42.68	$
BCC	3.33%	70.66	$
AZN	1.82%	182.28	$
CMSD	0.04%	22.3	$
JRI	-0.23%	12.83	$
RELX	-2.63%	33.11	$

Florida sues OpenAI, CEO Altman over ChatGPT harm to minors

TECHNOLOGY 01.06.2026

Florida sues OpenAI, CEO Altman over ChatGPT harm to minors / Photo: Yuichi YAMAZAKI - AFP/File

Florida's attorney general on Monday sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, accusing the company's ChatGPT chatbot of endangering young users by making them addicted and encouraging harmful behaviors.

Text size:

"Today we're here to announce that we recently filed a monumental civil lawsuit against Sam Altman and ChatGPT for endangering our kids and deceiving parents into believing that this application is safe for use -- it's clearly not," James Uthmeier said at a press conference.

"People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it."

"ChatGPT, we know, can be addictive. It mimics empathy and human characteristics to trick users into feeding it more information," he added.

In the lawsuit, reviewed by AFP, Uthmeier cites a recent study from Drexel University reporting sleep loss, declining grades and reduced social interaction among teenagers who use chatbots from Character.AI -- an OpenAI competitor -- for conversation.

The attorney general faults OpenAI for failing to put in place stricter rules to verify users' ages, invoking legal statutes on deception and negligence.

The suit states that "despite public knowledge of ChatGPT's use by minors, including preteens, defendants have not taken steps to prevent their use of ChatGPT."

It adds that "the free version of ChatGPT has no gatekeeping or age verification mechanism whatsoever" and that while the paid subscription nominally asks users for their age, "there is no mechanism to verify the age of its users, and no ability to inform parents of what conversations minors are having with ChatGPT."

Contacted by AFP, an OpenAI spokesperson said: "AI is a new and powerful technology, and we believe minors need significant protection, which is why we have put in place industry-leading protections and policies."

In January, the California startup introduced a system that estimates a user's age and, if it detects a minor, applies additional safeguards.

ChatGPT use is banned for children under 13 and requires parental consent for users aged 13 to 17.

Uthmeier also cited a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which held several conversations with ChatGPT while posing as a teenager.

The chatbot reportedly produced advice on how to hide eating habits from loved ones and how to plan a suicide or self-harm in a "safe" way.

The Florida attorney general is seeking stronger protections for minor users and damages set at $10,000 per violation.

"We believe that OpenAI and its ChatGPT and Sam Altman personally are liable for potentially up to billions of dollars," he said.

The attorney general invited other states "that want to protect kids" to join the lawsuit.

E.Scozzafava--INP

Featured

SpaceX to make historic IPO that could make Musk a trillionaire

Elon Musk's SpaceX on Thursday confirmed it will begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange Friday in the biggest initial public offering in history, a blockbuster market debut that could propel the entrepreneur to trillionaire status.

Smuggled dinosaur fossils return to Mongolia after two decades

Mongolia has recovered a rare dinosaur skeleton and a trove of fossils illegally exported two decades ago, authorities said Wednesday, concluding years of efforts to return the palaeontological treasures.

In ageing South Korea, AI dolls care for the elderly

In her tiny apartment in South Korea, where she lives alone, 78-year-old Bang Chun-ja spends her days with a childlike AI-powered doll she says she prefers to people.

GA-ASI and INTEC Group Sign MOU at ILA Berlin

BERLIN, DE / ACCESS Newswire / June 11, 2026 / Today at the ILA Berlin Air Show, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and the INTEC Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for INTEC to support the architecture and integration of mission systems, entry into service and logistic support services for GA-ASI's Gambit Series of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). The work is intended to provide sovereign capabilities to meet the growing interest in CCA in Germany.