Why are eight US states suing OpenAI?

Eight US states have filed the most significant coordinated state action against tech giant OpenAI, adding to a wave of legal challenges that the firm is facing as it prepares for a public listing.

Recent legal and regulatory challenges have highlighted concerns about how AI chatbots and social media platforms are used and triggered discussions on policies for identifying and addressing user conversations that threaten violence.
Calls have been growing for AI companies to be held accountable for the impact of their digital platforms on users, specifically children, who are particularly susceptible to addiction and other harms.

What is this legal action about?
Florida filed the first lawsuit in June, alleging that the platform has harmed children by enabling information to be gathered by school shooters, providing access to guidance on self-harm and using addictive algorithms to keep young ‌users hooked.

It cited a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee in April 2025, when a 20-year-old gunman shot dead two adults and wounded five others. According to the lawsuit, gunman Phoenix Ikner consulted OpenAI’s ChatGPT programme about what type of weapon and ammunition to use and at what time campus would be busiest.

On Wednesday, attorneys general from eight states – Iowa, Kansas, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska and West ⁠Virginia – said they had also sued OpenAI in courts across the country.

They all claim ChatGPT has caused harm to their residents, alleging the chatbot has coached its users – including teenagers – to harm themselves or others.