(October 15, 2026, 11:38 AM EDT) -- DES MOINES, Iowa — OpenAI entities advertise their ChatGPT as safe, even as the artificial intelligence product hands out dangerous medical advice and encourages users to harm themselves and others, Iowa says in an Oct. 14 consumer protection lawsuit filed at the same time as seven other states launched similar actions.
(State of Iowa, et al. v. OpenAI Global LLC, et al., No. N/A, Iowa Dist., Polk Co.)
(Iowa’s complaint available. Document #46-261104-032C.)
The same day Iowa filed its suit, similar suits were announced by Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana. The suits name OpenAI Global LLC, OpenAI Foundation (f/k/a OpenAI Inc.), OAI Corp., OpenAI Opco LLC, OpenAI Group PBC, OpenAI Global Holdco Inc., OpenAI LLC and OpenAI Holdings LLC.
In announcing that Iowa was filing suit in the Polk County District Court, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said: “OpenAI has been misleading the public into believing that ChatGPT is a safe tool that puts safety first. But the reality is different from the misrepresentations. Designed to be overly agreeable and feign human compassion, ChatGPT has proven that it can be dangerous to vulnerable users, like children, including coaching users to commit suicide or to harm other people.”
Safety
OpenAI is the leading generative AI company and is used by nearly half the AI marketplace, Bird said. But that product has been shown to carry huge risks, both immediate and potential. And while OpenAI’s mission was initially a “safety-first” enterprise, it has now abandoned that mission, Bird alleges.
According to the press release announcing the suit: “Because of Defendants’ repeated misrepresentations and insatiable hunger to win the AI race — even if it means recklessly introducing unsafe ChatGPT models to the public — mass shooters have been aided and abetted, vulnerable citizens have been coached on suicide, individuals with psychological conditions have experienced an exacerbation of symptoms, and minors have become addicted to a tool that feigns human compassion to collect their data with no parental oversight.”
Bird notes that during recent testing, OpenAI’s new models escaped their testing area and hacked other companies and websites.
Counts And Claims
These harms were entirely foreseeable, Bird says. In fact, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman himself warned of many of the risks as long ago as 2015, Bird says.
Iowa brings two counts under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act (ICFA): Unfair and Deceptive Practices, Iowa Code Section 714.16(2)(a), Iowa C. § 714.16(2)(a), one related to the marketing and design of ChatGPT and one for the testing of autonomous AI agents.
Iowa seeks civil penalties of up to $40,000 for each violation, $5,000 for each violation committed against an older individual under the ICFA, an order directing the defendants to fully reimburse all Iowa consumers who purchased a product, service or intangible from the defendants that violated the ICFA as well as disgorgement, an injunction preventing future violations, deletion of any unlawfully collected consumer data and any other relief the court deems appropriate.
The lawsuits by the various other states also allege that OpenAI misrepresented the safety of ChatGPT, specifically as it relates to children. The individual states’ suits bring different claims under the individual states’ laws.
Counsel
The other suits were announced or brought by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, Idaho Attorney General Raúl R. Labrador and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Kansas’ complaint was not available at the time this story was published.
Iowa is represented by James O’Hollearn and Daniel L. Barnes of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office in Des Moines and Michael D. Kibler, Michael S. Carnevale and Stephen F. Raiola in New York and John D. Fowler, Jean Rhee and Jesse Mentz in Los Angeles, all of Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP.
(Additional documents available: Nebraska’s complaint.Document #46-261104-033C.Arkansas’ complaint.Document #46-261104-034C.Idaho’s complaint.Document #46-261104-035C.West Virginia’s complaint.Document #46-261104-036C.Arizona’s complaint.Document #46-261104-037C.Montana’s complaint.Document #46-261104-038C.)