Florida sues OpenAI, Sam Altman, saying they put profit over safety

Florida’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and the company’s CEO, saying the company misrepresents safety to turn a profit.

Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Monday, accusing the company of putting profit over safety, fueling violence and pushing a product it knew could harm users.

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“The rise of OpenAI is attributable to a web of deceit and the exploitation of users (including Floridians), leveraging their data and safety to boost OpenAI’s market value at unacceptable costs,” said the complaint reviewed by NBC News and filed Monday.

The civil action, seeking penalties and a court order rather than criminal charges, said Uthmeier “seeks to hold Altman personally liable for the harm he has caused Floridians through his reckless and willful conduct as founder and CEO of OpenAI, including his utter disregard for the risk to human life caused by his firms’ conduct.” The action is separate from a criminal investigation into OpenAI that Uthmeier opened in late April, which remains ongoing.