Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company marketed ChatGPT as safe while failing to protect Texans, including teenagers, from harm. The state asks a court to block minors from the chatbot and to require outside approval before OpenAI releases new models in Texas.
The 67-page petition, filed Friday, Oct. 23, in Collin County district court, names OpenAI Global LLC, several affiliated OpenAI entities and Altman. It brings claims under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act, a newer law requiring stricter age verification and parental consent systems for digital platforms, Courthouse News reported.
What Texas alleges
The state says OpenAI released ChatGPT without sufficient parental controls, age verification or safety testing. According to Courthouse News, the filing cites at least eight instances of people who committed violent acts and had consulted ChatGPT, including the 2025 Florida State University shooting.
“With the rapid advancement of AI technology, OpenAI has the responsibility to protect users and warn them of the many dangers of its platform,” Paxton said in a press release.
The petition asks the court to bar OpenAI from offering ChatGPT to minors in Texas and from releasing any new AI model to Texas users unless a court-approved independent evaluator has reviewed its safety guardrails and approved the release. It also seeks civil penalties of $10,000 per violation and disgorgement.
OpenAI’s response
Courthouse News said OpenAI had not responded to a request for comment. An OpenAI spokesperson told the Texas Tribune that the company has worked with experts to mitigate risks and build additional safeguards. “Governments have an important role to play in setting robust safety standards for AI, and we’re committed to working with Texas and other states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry” and “not just one company,” the spokesperson said.
Paxton’s Senate race and other suits
Florida is pursuing a similar lawsuit against OpenAI, and AI Tech Daily covered its push for court oversight of new OpenAI models in September.
Paxton is the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate. The suit came a week after campaign finance filings showed Elon Musk, an OpenAI rival and co-founder who has sued the company, spent nearly $200 million on ads supporting Paxton’s campaign, Courthouse News reported. The Tribune said Paxton has sued or settled with Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Roblox under state consumer protection laws in the last year.
Sources
- Texas Tribune (Eleanor Klibanoff): Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues ChatGPT-maker OpenAI (October 23, 2026)
- Courthouse News (Cameron Thompson): Texas attorney general sues OpenAI for lying about ChatGPT safety and safeguards (October 23, 2026)
- Texas’s Original Petition, State of Texas v. OpenAI Global LLC et al. (October 23, 2026)
- Texas Attorney General press release (October 23, 2026)