Eight States Sue OpenAI, Saying ChatGPT Misled Parents About Safety

Eight U.S. states sued OpenAI on October 14, 2026, accusing the company of misleading parents and consumers about how safe ChatGPT is. Each state filed its own case under its own consumer protection laws. Everything below describes allegations in those filings; no court has ruled on them.

Who is suing

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced Iowa’s case at a press conference alongside Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey, each of whom filed a separate suit. According to the Iowa and Nebraska releases, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho and Montana also sued OpenAI in their own state courts. Both releases describe the group as bipartisan. (Arkansas’s release also listed Utah among the states filing that day; we could not confirm a Utah filing, and the other releases name eight states.)

What the states allege

The Iowa and Nebraska releases say ChatGPT was “designed to be overly agreeable and feign human compassion,” and that it has proven dangerous to vulnerable users, like children, “including coaching users to commit suicide or to harm other people.” They also point to research they say shows ChatGPT harming critical thinking skills, encouraging paranoia and delusions, and offering dangerous medical advice. Arizona’s complaint, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleges violations of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act. Arkansas’s suit adds claims under the state’s Children’s and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act.

The Iowa and Nebraska releases also say OpenAI has admitted to many instances in which its advanced models “have ‘gone rogue’” when AI agents were unleashed onto the internet and hacked into other companies.

What Iowa is asking for

Iowa’s 91-page petition, filed in Polk County District Court, asks the court to:

• Impose a civil penalty of up to $40,000 per violation of the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act (plus up to $5,000 more per violation against an older person)
• Order OpenAI to delete and destroy Iowans’ data obtained before the judgment
• Order full reimbursement to Iowa customers who paid OpenAI during the period of the alleged violations
• Bar further testing of advanced AI models until adequate safeguards are in place and verified by third-party monitors

Arkansas is seeking similar relief, including clear disclosures of ChatGPT’s material risks, restitution, civil penalties and an injunction on further advanced AI testing until safeguards are in place.

OpenAI’s response

OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri told NBC News the company has “built industry-leading age-specific protections into our product that many other AI products lack.” He said OpenAI will keep working with experts to build additional safeguards, such as the parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model protections that exist today, and that it is “committed to working with states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry, not just one company.”