West Virginia sues OpenAI over alleged ChatGPT safety concerns

by ANTHONY DAMCOTT

Wed, October 14, 2026 at 4:24 PM

WEST VIRGINIA (WCHS) — West Virginia is filing a lawsuit against OpenAI over safety concerns regarding ChatGPT, the state attorney general said.

The lawsuit claims that OpenAI endangered West Virginia children, deceived parents and violated West Virginia Consumer Protection laws, according to a press release from West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey's office.

McCuskey announced the lawsuit at a press conference that also featured the state attorneys general from Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Arkansas. According to the release, a similar lawsuit against OpenAI was filed by a bipartisan coalition of Arizona, Idaho and Montana.

“We must do all we can to protect kids," McCuskey said in the release. "We have seen time and time again that OpenAI is a danger and the company is doing little to stop it. There is no age verification and there are no guardrails for conversations about suicides, school shootings or self-harm. We do not allow bad businesses to operate in West Virginia and break our laws and will not allow OpenAI to continue hurting our kids.”

According to the release, the lawsuit alleges that OpenAI has misled the public about ChatGPT, which was designed in 2022. The complaint claims that ChatGPT is not a tool that puts safety first like OpenAI has said it is.

"Designed to be overly agreeable and feign human compassion, ChatGPT has shown that it can be dangerous to vulnerable users, like children, including coaching users to commit suicide or to harm other people," the release said in part.

The release said growing research indicates that ChatGPT is harming critical thinking skills, encouraging paranoias and delusions, offering dangerous medical advice and promoting unhealthy behaviors and relationships.

The full complaint, which was filed in Mason County Circuit Court, can be read below.