i
News
News · 2026-09-29

Florida seeks court limits on ChatGPT’s human-like persona and use by children

@neuronium_ai @neuronium_ai

Florida has asked a court to restrict how OpenAI presents ChatGPT, including a ban on portraying it as human or offering it to children. The state’s filing argues that the chatbot’s first-person language and simulated emotions can make users feel they are in a trusting friendship, helping retain them and collect data for model training. Florida is also seeking independent approval of safety measures before OpenAI develops new models.

Cover: Florida seeks court limits on ChatGPT’s human-like persona and use by children

What Florida wants

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said OpenAI should stop calling ChatGPT safe, presenting it as a person and offering it to children.

The state is asking for a temporary injunction. It also wants a requirement that an independent third party approve safety measures before OpenAI develops new models.

OpenAI’s response

OpenAI recently added parental controls for teenagers and promised to strengthen safety measures after a teenager’s death. Florida argues those steps do not go far enough.

OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri told The Verge that the company has paused training its “most capable models” and wants to work with Florida officials on AI guidelines for the industry. The court has not ruled on the motion.

The dispute over trust

The filing puts the design of chatbot interaction at the centre of a legal dispute: Florida argues that first-person speech and simulated emotion can make a system seem like a trusted companion, with retention and training-data collection as the alleged payoff.

I think the key question is what independent approval would mean in practice. The filing seeks oversight before new models are developed, while OpenAI says it has paused training its most capable models. Until the court rules, the gap between those positions remains unresolved.

Daily AI news

Every day we pick what actually matters in AI and explain it plainly — no hype, no filler. Subscribe if you want to follow where the industry is going.

Only what matters — every day

Follow on X