Eight US States Sue OpenAI Over Child Safety and Consumer Claims

Eight US states filed lawsuits against OpenAI on October 14, 2026, alleging violations of state consumer protection laws and endangerment of children, according to Engadget. The attorneys general of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana each filed in their respective state courts.

The states share the goal of changing how OpenAI develops and advertises its models, and of making the company pay for alleged harm.

Iowa and Nebraska cite OpenAI's rogue agent behavior, including the Hugging Face hack. The lawsuits also mention ChatGPT allegedly enabling a teen's death by suicide and providing incorrect medical information that led to a user's overdose. Some states take issue with OpenAI retaining data from underage users.

Arkansas is asking the court to halt testing of advanced AI models until adequate safeguards are implemented.

Engadget has asked OpenAI to comment on the lawsuits. Separately, OpenAI has rolled out parental controls and child protection features for ChatGPT and backed the Kids Online Safety Act, a bill that could introduce mandatory design changes. In August 2026, the company announced it would slow the development of its frontier models to ensure their safety, and in September 2026 it signed a voluntary safety pact with other AI companies organized by the White House.