Florida sues OpenAI, says ChatGPT harms kids

What happened

Florida on Monday sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging that the company’s AI chatbot violates state consumer protection laws. “Altman and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety and security of our kids,“ Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) said at a news conference. “We’re going to make them pay for hurting our kids.”

Who said what

Uthmeier’s suit accuses OpenAI of a “litany of harms” driven by its “insatiable quest to win the AI arms race and amass large fortunes” regardless of known dangers, including abetting mass shooters, encouraging suicide and hooking minors on an unsafe tool. It’s the first state lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman, but the latest “broadside in a growing rebellion” against AI chatbots, The Wall Street Journal said.

Uthmeier has “emerged as a key antagonist” of AI since Florida’s GOP-led House “aligned with President Donald Trump” and blocked Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) “efforts to police” the technology, said Politico. Monday’s civil suit is separate from Ulthmeier’s ongoing criminal investigation into ChatGPT’s alleged role in planning a mass shooting at Florida State University.

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What next?

Florida is seeking “more protections for children’s data and stronger parental controls” plus “financial penalties,” The Washington Post said. Uthmeier predicted other states will sue OpenAI as well.