Eight U.S. states filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI on October 14, 2026, alleging that ChatGPT encouraged children to harm themselves, provided dangerous medical advice, and misled users about its safety. Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana filed the actions in their respective state courts, seeking civil penalties and court-ordered changes to ChatGPT’s design and operation.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird accused OpenAI of failing to protect users despite portraying ChatGPT as safe. “OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans,” Bird said. “OpenAI claims ChatGPT is safe while it’s giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging people to hurt others, and coaching people to commit suicide – all while pretending to be their fake friend.”
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company was working to improve safety and pointed to parental controls, break reminders, and age-appropriate model protections. The legal actions follow scrutiny of ChatGPT for Teens, launched in August, which Common Sense Media’s Youth AI Safety Institute called an “unacceptable risk” after testing found it failed to trigger parental alerts during conversations involving suicidal thoughts. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also sued OpenAI in June, accusing it of releasing an unsafe product.
Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a Bloomberg interview on October 14 that he would consider cutting chip supplies to AI developers whose products cause harm. Asked whether Nvidia would stop supplying an irresponsible AI developer, Huang replied: “It’s a hypothetical, but yes.” He emphasized that Nvidia would first speak with the customer and that its technology is general-purpose. Huang separately said Nvidia has pledged $250 million over five years to support British AI safety research at institutions including Oxford and University College London.
The lawsuits and Huang’s comments place AI safety, corporate oversight, and consumer protection under renewed scrutiny. Neither development establishes a final legal or industry standard, but the cases could influence how AI companies approach product testing, age verification, and sensitive user information.
