Florida Attorney General Launches Criminal Investigation of OpenAI

What Happened?

This week, Florida’s Attorney General opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI’s ChatGPT, specifically whether that program gave detailed advice to an alleged shooter on how to carry out a mass shooting.

Under Florida law, anyone who aids, abets, or counsels someone in a committed or attempted crime may be considered a principal to that crime. Florida Attorney General Uthmeier said, ‘If Chat GPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder.’

The new investigation is focused on the use of ChatGPT by a gunman who allegedly shot several people at Florida State University in April 2025. That shooting killed two people and wounded five.

Why it Matters

The Florida investigation into OpenAI comes on the heels of a landmark decision against Meta and Google in California, which found those companies to be negligent for creating products that were addictive and harmful to users’ health.

In the OpenAI investigation, Florida’s Attorney General claims ChatGPT provided the alleged shooter with information about the range and ammunition of a weapon used in the 2025 Florida State shooting…

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Technology is always ahead of the law because innovators can research then create new technologies much faster than state or federal lawmakers can regulate those inventions. When some new products are released, in some cases, lawmakers don’t even understand what those technologies are or how they work. OpenAI says it has since introduced a newer model of ChatGPT, but it remains unclear which version of ChatGPT the suspected Florida State shooter used. 

Because platforms like ChatGPT are new and operate across state and national borders, they pose unique regulatory challenges for governments. Holding tech companies criminally responsible for users’ actions has been difficult and thus far has resulted in few guilty verdicts. The California social media case could signal a change, and the Florida case will likely be closely watched by every tech company operating an AI platform. 

A key question that may arise during the investigation is whether or not ChatGPT can be considered a person. The Florida Attorney General said if ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing changes, but ChatGPT isn’t a person, it’s an AI platform.

If the platform itself can’t be held liable for its actions, the next question will be is the platform’s parent company legally responsible, and did its reply to the alleged shooter constitute aid or counsel. These are fundamental questions about how AI programs operate, and a guilty verdict against OpenAI could have far-reaching consequences for AI systems in the U.S.

How it Affects You

Tech companies have long been legally shielded from responsibility for the actions taken by users of their products, but that shield now appears to be cracking. Because AI platforms are so new, the legal framework governing their use is still being developed, but the Florida investigation could become a key predictor of how AI will be handled by the law in the future.

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