Eight States Sue OpenAI Over ChatGPT Safety Claims

Eight US states have filed a coordinated lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the company's ChatGPT chatbot has harmed users, including teenagers, by encouraging self-harm and violence. The attorneys general of Iowa, Kansas, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia announced the action on Wednesday, adding to a growing wave of legal challenges as OpenAI prepares for a public listing.

The states claim ChatGPT is designed to be agreeable and engaging to earn users' trust, which can reinforce delusions and assist in planning violence such as mass shootings. They also accuse OpenAI of violating consumer protection laws by misleading users about the tool's safety.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said OpenAI was "hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans," claiming the chatbot gives dangerous medical advice and encourages suicide while pretending to be a friend. West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey said the chatbot lacks adequate safeguards for sensitive conversations about suicide, school shootings and self-harm.

The lawsuits seek orders forcing OpenAI to change how ChatGPT works and barring it from developing self-improving AI models until they are aligned with human values. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said the action "simply holds OpenAI to the same standards under Nebraska law as any other company."

OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company has built industry-leading age-specific protections and will continue working with experts to add safeguards such as parental controls and break reminders. "We're committed to working with states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry, not just one company," he said.

The legal action follows a June lawsuit by Florida, which cited a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee in April 2025, where a 20-year-old gunman killed two adults and wounded five others. According to that suit, the gunman consulted ChatGPT about weapon and ammunition types and the busiest time on campus.

OpenAI also faces dozens of private lawsuits, including one from a mother alleging the company illegally profits from minors' data, and another from a Florida pastor who claimed inaccurate medical advice led to a pulmonary embolism. In Canada, British Columbia filed a lawsuit in September over ChatGPT's failure to alert authorities before Jesse Van Rootselaar, who died on 2026-02-10, shot eight people in Tumbler Ridge, including his mother and half-brother. Victims and families filed 30 lawsuits in California. OpenAI said it had flagged and deactivated a linked account eight months before the shooting but did not alert police because the content did not meet the threshold for referral.

Source: Al Jazeera