Florida is now OpenAI's biggest problem in red America - POLITICO
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Florida is now OpenAI's biggest problem in red America<br>Top Florida pols are making AI regulation a key issue, pushing legislation, lawsuits and campaign messages.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a meeting with Republican governors and President-elect Donald Trump, at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 9, 2025. | Evan Vucci/AP
By Andrew Atterbury and Kimberly Leonard06/02/2026 05:00 AM EDT
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Florida Republicans, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Attorney General James Uthmeier, are applying more pressure than any other red state to regulate artificial intelligence — turning Florida into the biggest threat against AI in conservative America.<br>Beyond Florida state lawmakers earlier this year mounting two DeSantis-backed attempts to pass AI regulations, Uthmeier this week launched a lawsuit to strongarm OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman into creating safeguards for its ChatGPT bot, a legal maneuver that could inspire other states to act.
“We’re going to make them pay for hurting our kids,” Uthmeier said Monday.
And Rep. Byron Donalds, Trump’s pick to succeed DeSantis as governor of the state they all call home, said Monday that he disagreed with the president on regulating AI. The GOP front-runner said that while Trump has called for a national framework, he wants states to regulate the technology given that Congress failed to quickly address numerous popular issues.<br>Donalds made the comments despite AI cash pouring into his campaign coffers, with the pro-AI political action committee Leading the Future planning to spend at least $5 million to boost his candidacy.<br>His comments, as well as others from GOP gubernatorial candidates former state House Speaker Paul Renner, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and investor James Fishback pledging to hold a hard line on AI, all but ensure Florida will continue trying to govern the technology at the state level beyond the end of DeSantis’ administration.<br>The moves also signal that Florida Republicans are willing to buck Trump — and tech money flowing into their campaigns — to take a stand against AI, which is seen as an existential threat among voters who fear technology will make their jobs obsolete, data centers will be housed in their communities and cyberattacks and sophisticated scams could drain their bank accounts.<br>“We are at this turning point where concerns about safety and security are much more palpable to elected officials,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas-based consultant and president at the Alliance for Secure AI, which is pushing for regulations. “I have had a number of meetings with candidates and consultants … and they are all seeing this stuff in the polling.”<br>Steinhauser, who worked on Sen. John Cornyn’s 2014 campaign, said voters are expressing concerns about how their jobs might be rendered obsolete because of automation and the rise of advanced robotics and “superintelligence,” among other things, and are finding it all “very unsettling.”<br>“People are seeing that and the politicians reflect public opinion,” he said.<br>The president, by contrast, recently postponed signing an executive order that would create increased federal oversight of AI and has said he’s worried about the U.S. being outpaced by China when it comes to technological developments. In the West Wing, various factions are trying to get on the same page about regulations, with some concerned they could become too onerous and others worried about the technology’s potential threats to national security.<br>The White House did not respond to requests for comment.<br>Even though Florida’s attempts to pass AI-related legislation stalled, Uthmeier’s lawsuit seeks to hold OpenAI accountable in a way that parallels the stalled legislation by forcing the company to obtain parental consent for data collection from some of its youngest users.<br>Uthmeier alleged in the filing that OpenAI is committing unfair business practices for “failing to warn of ChatGPT’s dangers” and “designing, offering, and maintaining a dangerous product that provides content unsuitable for children without requiring adequate age verification.” As such, the attorney general is asking a judge to change how OpenAI operates, from barring certain behaviors to demanding damages on behalf of Floridians.<br>OpenAI did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment on the lawsuit.<br>Florida’s civil complaint, which is in addition to an ongoing criminal investigation, is galvanized by allegations that two Florida students used ChatGPT to commit gruesome crimes.
An impromptu memorial shared online brings students bearing flowers into the evening near the center of the Florida State campus in sight of the Student Union building, Tallahassee, Florida, on April 17, 2025. | Gary McCullough/AP
For one, a suspected gunman behind the 2025 shooting at Florida State University allegedly communicated frequently with a ChatGPT bot about a...