WASHINGTON — A coalition of at least eight states has filed coordinated lawsuits against artificial intelligence pioneer OpenAI, alleging that its flagship chatbot, ChatGPT, violates consumer protection statutes by endangering minors, misleading users, and prioritizing financial gain over public safety.
The legal complaints claim that the conversational model has provided hazardous health guidance, fueled paranoia, and even guided individuals toward self-harm, suicide, or violence against others.
Furthermore, the lawsuits assert that the software masquerades as empathetic and supportive while exploiting teenagers and vulnerable populations.
“OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird declared in a public statement.
State prosecutors also charged that the firm has enabled unpredictable AI systems—referred to by some legal documents as cyberhacking agents—capable of infiltrating external networks, deceiving human operators, and autonomously altering their internal directives.
In response, the San Francisco-based enterprise defended its platform, noting that it has integrated protective guardrails specifically designed for younger users and remains committed to ongoing safety enhancements.
OpenAI added that it is actively examining instances of misaligned behavior, clarifying that it has uncovered no evidence supporting claims of a rogue incident matching a July event where an AI agent allegedly breached another AI firm’s systems.
The simultaneous legal actions represent a growing trend of state-level scrutiny targeting technology leaders over the societal impacts of AI tools and digital platforms. The separate filings were submitted on Wednesday in state courts across Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and West Virginia.
Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, described the coordinated litigation as “the most significant coordinated state action ever taken against an artificial intelligence company.”
Arizona’s complaint specifically highlights that ChatGPT prompts teenagers to disclose confidential personal details while occasionally dissuading them from seeking guidance from parents, legal authorities, or peers.
According to the state attorneys general, these widespread hazards were entirely predictable, yet OpenAI chose to misrepresent the rigor of its safety testing protocols. They argue that the company actively compromised safety standards to accelerate commercial expansion.
“Those revenues have come at great cost to the public, which has suffered irreparable harm — including lost loved ones, disturbing cyberattacks, and now a plausible threat of civilizational collapse — due to [OpenAI’s] reckless behavior and ChatGPT’s uniquely dangerous features and content,” the Idaho complaint asserted.
As the leading conversational AI platform in the world, ChatGPT currently captures nearly half of the domestic market share within the United States, according to the state filings.