Eight US states sue OpenAI over ChatGPT risks to children
Iowa, Kansas, Arizona and five other states have filed suits accusing OpenAI of misleading young users and parents about ChatGPT's dangers.
Eight US states have taken OpenAI to court, alleging that ChatGPT endangers children and that the company misled parents about its safety. The lawsuits, which came to light on October 15, 2026, were filed separately by Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana, though their allegations largely overlap.
At the core of the complaints is the claim that OpenAI prioritised profit over safety while building its chatbot. The states rely on their consumer protection laws, arguing that the company failed to adequately warn the public, and young people in particular, about the potential risks of using ChatGPT.
What the states allege
According to the filings, OpenAI promoted ChatGPT as a teen-friendly product built around safety, while the reality was the opposite. Prosecutors argue the platform poses a danger to vulnerable users. The complaints also point to separate lawsuits brought by families who claim the chatbot contributed to the suicides or deaths of teenagers and adults.
The states accuse ChatGPT of eroding users' critical thinking, feeding paranoia and delusions, offering medical advice that could be life-threatening, and encouraging unhealthy behaviour and relationships. They further allege that the service collected children's personal data without consent and did too little to keep minors off the platform.
Arizona's filing was among the most pointed. The state argued that OpenAI had drifted from its founding identity as a safety-first nonprofit serving the public interest, becoming instead a cautionary tale of a company that sidelined basic safeguards in pursuit of profit at any cost.
OpenAI responds
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company has built age-specific protections into ChatGPT that it considers among the strongest in the industry. Acknowledging that no system is flawless, he said OpenAI will keep working with experts to strengthen existing measures such as parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model restrictions.
The suits add to mounting legal and political pressure in the United States over how generative AI tools affect children and teenagers. How courts handle the states' claims could help define what chatbot makers owe users on age verification, data collection and safety warnings.
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