Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on Thursday his office will investigate OpenAI for its alleged harm to minors, potential to threaten national security, and its possible link to a shooting that took place at Florida State University last year.
“ChatGPT may likely have been used to assist the murderer in the recent mass school shooting at Florida State University that tragically took two lives,” Attorney General Uthmeier said in a video posted to social media.
On the day of the FSU shooting last April, the suspect allegedly asked ChatGPT how the country would react to a shooting at FSU, and what time it would be busiest at the FSU student union. These messages could potentially be used as evidence against the suspect in an October trial about the shooting.
The attorney general cited further concerns about ChatGPT’s encouragement of suicide in certain instances, which have been documented in multiple lawsuits brought by families against OpenAI. He also mentioned his concern that the Chinese Communist Party could use OpenAI’s technology against the United States.
“As big tech rolls out these technologies, they should not — they cannot — put our safety and security at risk,” he said. “We support innovation. But that doesn’t 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.
“Each 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.”
OpenAI added that it builds and continues to improve ChatGPT to understand user intent and respond in appropriate, safe ways. The company said it will cooperate with the Florida attorney general’s investigation.
On Wednesday, OpenAI unveiled its Child Safety Blueprint, which includes policy recommendations designed to improve children’s safety as it relates to AI.
This action comes as chatbot makers face pressure to confront their potential role in creating child sexual abuse material (CSAM). According to a recent report from the Internet Watch Foundation, there were over 8,000 reports of AI-generated CSAM in the first half of 2025, which represents a 14% increase year over year.
OpenAI’s blueprint recommends updating legislation to protect against AI-generated abuse material, refining the reporting process to law enforcement, and instituting better preventative safeguards against abusive uses of AI tools.
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Amanda Silberling is a senior writer at TechCrunch covering the intersection of technology and culture. She has also written for publications like Polygon, MTV, the Kenyon Review, NPR, and Business Insider. She is the co-host of Wow If True, a podcast about internet culture, with science fiction author Isabel J. Kim. Prior to joining TechCrunch, she worked as a grassroots organizer, museum educator, and film festival coordinator. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and served as a Princeton in Asia Fellow in Laos.
You can contact or verify outreach from Amanda by emailing amanda@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at @amanda.100 on Signal.
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