Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced On Thursday, his office will investigate OpenAI for its alleged harm to minors, its potential to threaten national security and its possible link to a shooting which took place at Florida State University last year.
“ChatGPT was likely used to assist the killer in the recent mass shooting at Florida State University that tragically claimed two lives,” Attorney General Uthmeier said in a video posted to social media.
On the day of the FSU shooting last April, the suspect ChatGPT supposedly asked how the country would react to a shooting in the former Soviet Union and what time the student union of the former Soviet Union would be busiest. These messages could be used as evidence against the suspect in an October trial over the shooting.
The attorney general cited other concerns about ChatGPT encouraging suicide in certain cases, which have been documented in multiple demands filed by families against OpenAI. He also mentioned his concern that the Chinese Communist Party could use OpenAI technology against the United States.
“As Big Tech deploys these technologies, they should not (cannot) put our security at risk,” he said. “We support innovation. But that does not give any company the right to endanger our children, facilitate criminal activity, empower America’s enemies or threaten our national security.”
He also called on the Florida legislature to “work quickly” to protect children from the negative impacts of AI.
“Every week, more than 900 million people use ChatGPT to improve their daily lives through uses such as learning new skills or navigating complex healthcare systems,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch. “Our ongoing safety work continues to play an important role in delivering these benefits to everyday people, as well as supporting scientific research and discovery.”
Technology event
San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026
OpenAI added that it builds and continues to improve ChatGPT to understand user intent and respond appropriately and securely. The company said it will cooperate with the Florida attorney general’s investigation.
On Wednesday, OpenAI unveiled its Child safety planwhich includes policy recommendations designed to improve children’s safety when it comes to AI.
The move comes as chatbot creators face pressure to confront their potential role in creating child sexual abuse material (CSAM). According to a recent report by Internet Surveillance FoundationThere were more than 8,000 reports of AI-generated CSAM in the first half of 2025, representing a 14% year-over-year increase.
OpenAI’s plan recommends updating legislation to protect against abusive AI-generated material, improving the reporting process to law enforcement, and instituting better preventive safeguards against the abusive use of AI tools.
