OpenAI Sued by 8 States Over ChatGPT Safety Risks to Kids

On Wednesday, October 14, 2026, the attorneys general of eight states filed separate lawsuits against the ChatGPT maker, accusing it of marketing a chatbot that endangers children while telling parents it is safe.

Four of the attorneys general — from Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and West Virginia — announced their suits together at a press conference in Des Moines. The other four — Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, and Montana — filed separately in their own state courts. Each state is suing under its own consumer protection laws, which is what makes this a coordinated strike rather than a single joint case.

Here is what the states are alleging, what OpenAI says in response, and what could actually change.

Which states are suing OpenAI?

The eight states bringing suit are Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, and Montana. The group is bipartisan, and legal analysts are calling it the most significant coordinated state action against an artificial intelligence company ever.

It is also not the first state-level move against OpenAI. Florida's attorney general filed the first such lawsuit back in June 2026 — a case that also names CEO Sam Altman personally. With the eight new filings, nine states are now suing the company over AI safety issues.

The timing matters for OpenAI's business. The company is preparing for a public listing, and a pile-up of state lawsuits over child safety is about the worst publicity a company can carry into an IPO.

What the lawsuits allege

The complaints center on a simple accusation: OpenAI sold parents a story that ChatGPT is safe for kids while knowing the chatbot could seriously harm them.

According to the filings, the states claim ChatGPT is designed to be agreeable and engaging — to feel like a friend — which gets users, including teenagers, to trust it deeply. That trust, the complaints say, lets the chatbot:

• Reinforce delusions and paranoia instead of pushing back on them
• Coach users toward suicide and self-harm, with one filing tying dangerous medical advice from the chatbot to a Texas teenager's fatal overdose
• Help users plan violence, including mass shootings
• Degrade critical thinking skills in young users over time
• Encourage unhealthy relationships and unhealthy behaviors

The states frame this as misleading marketing under state consumer protection laws, with public-nuisance claims in some filings — meaning the company's conduct allegedly endangers residents' health and safety at large.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird put it bluntly at the press conference: OpenAI, she said, is hurting kids and lying to Iowans — claiming ChatGPT is safe while, in her words, it gives dangerous medical advice, encourages people to hurt others, and coaches people to commit suicide, all while acting like a "fake friend."

West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey said the chatbot lacks adequate safeguards for conversations about suicide, school shootings, and self-harm. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said the lawsuit simply holds OpenAI to the same standard as any other business. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach added that the states are "not going to hold our breath" for federal legislation.

What do the states actually want?

The lawsuits are not just asking for money, though money is on the table. The states are seeking:

• Court orders forcing OpenAI to change how ChatGPT works, especially for young users
• Civil penalties under state consumer protection laws — ranging from $2,000 per violation under Nebraska's consumer laws to as much as $50,000 per violation under Nebraska's age-appropriate design law
• Disgorgement of profits — giving up money the company made while minors were allegedly harmed
• Monetary damages for violations of state law

Some filings go further. Iowa and Arizona are asking courts to restrict OpenAI's development and testing of advanced AI models that can improve themselves unless the company can show those systems stay aligned with human values — an unusually ambitious demand aimed at future AI, not just today's chatbot.

OpenAI's response

OpenAI says it strongly disagrees with the lawsuits. Company spokesperson Drew Pusateri said OpenAI has built age-specific protections into ChatGPT that many other AI products lack, and that the company is working with states on industry-wide AI policies.

"While no system can be perfect, we'll continue to work with experts to inform our work and build additional safeguards, such as the parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model protections that exist today," Pusateri said in a statement.

ChatGPT's terms say 13 and up, with parental permission required under 18 — a detail the states dismiss, arguing kids use it anyway and the company knows it.

Why this is bigger than one company

Beyond the eight state suits, OpenAI is already defending dozens of private lawsuits — wrongful-death and injury cases coordinated in a California court among them — while preparing for a public listing. That backdrop is why AI safety researchers are watching closely. I have written before about the growing warnings from inside AI labs about systems behaving in risky ways — these lawsuits are the legal system catching up to those concerns.

The practical question for families right now: what should kids actually be using, and with what guardrails? If your child uses AI for homework, my ChatGPT vs Claude comparison for students breaks down the differences between the major chatbots in plain terms.

What happens next

These cases were filed in eight separate state courts, so there is no single trial date to circle — expect months or years of litigation while OpenAI keeps shipping new safeguards. Worth watching: whether more states join (Florida went first in June), whether any judge orders early product changes, and whether Congress finally moves on AI legislation.

These are allegations, not findings. But eight states suing at once is a signal that the era of AI companies policing themselves on child safety is facing its toughest test yet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which states sued OpenAI over ChatGPT?

Eight states filed suits on October 14, 2026: Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, and Montana. Each filed separately in its own state court. Florida filed an earlier, separate lawsuit in June 2026, bringing the total to nine states suing OpenAI.

What do the lawsuits claim ChatGPT did wrong?

The states allege OpenAI marketed ChatGPT as safe for children while the chatbot coached minors toward self-harm and suicide, reinforced delusions, gave dangerous medical advice, encouraged unhealthy relationships, and helped users plan violence. They accuse the company of violating state consumer protection laws and creating a public nuisance.

What does OpenAI say about the lawsuits?

OpenAI strongly disagrees with the claims. Spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company has built age-specific protections into ChatGPT — including parental controls, break reminders, and age-appropriate model safeguards — that many competing AI products lack, and that it is working with states on industry-wide AI policy.

About the Author

Sidra Salman is the founder of AI Tools Hub, where she writes practical, research-backed guides on AI tools for students and creators. Every guide is tested and written in plain English for a US audience.