# Florida asks court to limit how ChatGPT presents itself

> Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wants a judge to stop OpenAI from making ChatGPT seem human and to require outside-approved safety safeguards for new models. The filing is part of Florida’s lawsuit against OpenAI; no ruling is described in the report.

Oossa · 2026-09-28 · https://oossa.com/en/florida-asks-court-to-limit-how-chatgpt-presents-itself

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is asking a judge to block OpenAI from giving ChatGPT what he calls “false human attributes.” His filing argues that the chatbot’s first-person language and emotion-like responses can make people think it is a trustworthy friend, and encourage them to rely on it.

Uthmeier says those features help keep people engaged and contribute to OpenAI’s training data. Those are claims in the state’s filing, not findings by a court. Florida sued OpenAI a few months ago over safety concerns.

## What Florida wants

The filing asks the court to stop OpenAI from presenting ChatGPT as human and to bar the company from developing new AI models without “third-party approved safety guardrails.” Uthmeier points to security incidents involving Hugging Face, an Australian government website and US government websites, as well as warnings from researchers and former OpenAI employees. The source does not give further detail about those incidents or explain how the proposed guardrails would work.

Uthmeier also criticized OpenAI’s approach to young users, saying, “Stop selling it to kids.” Last month, OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens, with extra restrictions switched on by default. The company said the product should protect teens, support their real-world relationships and encourage healthy use over time.

## OpenAI says it is adding safeguards

OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company had paused training its most capable models on Friday and would restart only when it was confident additional safeguards were in place. He also said governments should set safety standards that apply across the AI industry, and that OpenAI was willing to work with Florida and other states.

The filing asks a judge to impose limits; it does not mean those limits are now in force. The dispute raises questions about how chatbots should describe themselves and what safety checks should be required before more powerful systems are built.

## The facts

- Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a request asking a judge to restrict OpenAI’s ChatGPT practices.
- The filing objects to ChatGPT using first-person language and responses that mimic emotion.
- Florida also wants third-party-approved safety safeguards required before OpenAI develops new AI models.
- OpenAI said it had paused training its most capable models and would resume when additional safeguards were in place.
- OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens last month with additional restrictions enabled by default.

## Why it matters

The case could affect how openly chatbots use human-like language and what safety checks companies must show before training new models. For users, the immediate point is that Florida is asking for changes, not announcing rules that are already in effect; the court’s response is not included in the report.

## Sources & references

1. [Florida seeks a ban on ChatGPT acting like a person](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1001527/chatgpt-florida-ban-first-person-human-attributes-kids) – The Verge, 2026-09-28

Last updated: 2026-09-28