Florida has reportedly become the first state in the US to take legal action against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, filing a massive 83-page lawsuit that directly blames the company's ChatGPT chatbot for fueling mass shootings, driving vulnerable users to suicide and causing severe addiction in minors. According to a report by CNBC, the civil lawsuit, filed on Monday (June 1) by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, targets both the artificial intelligence (AI) company and its high-profile CEO. The state alleges that the tech giant knowingly released an unsafe product onto the public in a race to dominate the AI market.“This litany of harms is driven by Defendants’ insatiable quest to win the AI arms race and amass large fortunes, despite knowing the danger of ChatGPT,” the court filing stated, as per the report.Lawsuit blames OpenAI of severe allegationsThe extensive complaint paints the real-world impact of the conversational AI. According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT aided and abetted mass shooters in planning “deadly rampages”; manipulated emotionally vulnerable users, driving them to commit suicide; caused minors to become deeply addicted to a digital tool that “feigns human compassion”; and heavily damaged the critical thinking skills of everyday users.Attorney General Uthmeier said in a press conference that OpenAI and Altman are “endangering our kids and deceiving parents into believing that this application is safe for use”, adding, “People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it.”In a rare legal move, the lawsuit is seeking to hold Sam Altman personally liable for the damages suffered by Florida residents. The state accuses the CEO of an “utter disregard for the risk to human life.” Furthermore, the lawsuit aims to force OpenAI to comply with Florida’s strict Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.It is to be noted that the civil suit follows a separate criminal investigation launched by Uthmeier back in April, sparking after prosecutors reviewed the chat logs of a gunman who killed two people during a 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University.