Two-thirds of Floridians back James Uthmeier lawsuit against ChatGPT, poll finds

Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a lawsuit against the world’s most valuable startup. A new poll shows that Florida voters support his decision.

This comes from a Breakthrough Research poll by Sachs Media, taken June 1-2, shortly after Uthmeier filed the lawsuit in Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit. Florida is the first state to sue OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, over how ChatGPT treats users, especially children.

The results from 1,000 Florida voters are clear.

Sixty-five percent support the Attorney General’s case, with 37% strongly in favor. Only 27% are opposed.

Voters heard both arguments: the state said OpenAI marketed ChatGPT as safe but hid the risks, while the company argued that ChatGPT is a general-purpose tool used safely by millions. Most voters agreed with the state.

Support is highest among Republicans at 72%, but it is also strong among nonpartisans at 65% and Democrats at 58%. Older voters show more support, and both men (68%) and women (61%) back the lawsuit.

Voters do not just support the lawsuit; they want it to have real consequences.

When asked about penalties, 95% of voters supported at least one option. Ninety percent want restrictions on how ChatGPT works, and 75% think OpenAI should face financial penalties.

Looking closer, things look even tougher for OpenAI. Seventy-nine percent of voters believe the company misled people about ChatGPT’s safety, including 86% of women. Seventy-one percent say AI companies do not warn enough about risks, and this rises to 82% among seniors.

When asked if AI companies should need parental permission to collect data from children under 13, 96% of Floridians said yes, with 86% strongly agreeing. Support stays above 94% across all parties, ages, and genders.

It is rare for 96% of Florida voters to agree on anything, but this is one of those cases.

Florida voters share the same concerns about AI as Uthmeier.

Voters have many worries about AI, and these concerns cross party lines. Eighty-five percent are concerned about chatbots collecting children’s data without parents knowing. Eighty-two percent fear these products are addictive. Sixty percent are worried about encouragement of self-harm, and 58% are concerned about links to violence.

These are the main issues highlighted in Uthmeier’s 83-page complaint.

The state’s action is in line with recent moves in Washington. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order asking some AI companies to submit their most advanced new models for voluntary government review before they are released to the public. This order is a less strict version of a tougher draft he rejected last month.

Florida is taking on a trillion-dollar industry. The poll numbers show that voters are already supporting the state before the first hearing.

Sachs Media surveyed 1,000 Florida voters on June 1-2, 2026, using a random sample from the Florida Voter File. The margin of error is ±3.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The results represent voters by age, race, gender, political affiliation, and region.