Florida asks court to block new OpenAI model releases without third-party safety approval

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is seeking an emergency injunction against OpenAI, escalating the state’s legal fight over ChatGPT with new claims focused on children’s privacy and minors’ access to the chatbot, Axios reports.

According to Axios, the motion alleges OpenAI violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, by collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. The filing also alleges that OpenAI lacks adequate measures to prevent minors from accessing ChatGPT.

The new motion builds on a lawsuit Uthmeier filed in June. Axios reports that the earlier case accused OpenAI of violating Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, alleging the company was negligent and grossly negligent in the design, marketing, sale, promotion and distribution of ChatGPT.

That June suit also alleged that OpenAI failed to warn Floridians about ChatGPT’s dangers, misrepresented the chatbot’s safety and created a public nuisance by releasing it in Florida without proper safeguards, according to Axios.

The emergency request marks a sharper attempt by Florida to curb how ChatGPT is offered in the state while broader fights over AI regulation remain unsettled. OpenAI did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment.