Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, on October 23, 2026. The case, filed in Collin County district court, alleges that the company misled Texan consumers about the safety and reliability of ChatGPT and failed to protect users, especially children and teenagers.
The 67-page petition bases its claims on the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices—Consumer Protection Act (DTPA) and the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act (SCOPE Act). The state claims OpenAI marketed the chatbot as safe and reliable but did not implement adequate safeguards, effective age verification, or mandatory parental controls.
What the lawsuit seeks
Among the requests, Texas asks the court to:
- bar OpenAI from offering ChatGPT to minors in the state;
- require age verification and parental consent;
- prevent the release of any new AI model in Texas until a court-approved independent evaluator reviews and approves its safety safeguards;
- impose civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation and order disgorgement of assets.
The action personally names Sam Altman, alleging his direct role in design, safety policies, and public statements about the company’s products. It cites, among other examples, reported cases of problematic chatbot interactions with young people, as well as containment incidents involving OpenAI’s own AI agents.
Why it matters
The lawsuit adds to similar actions brought by other U.S. states against OpenAI over ChatGPT safety issues, particularly regarding minors. It reflects growing pressure from state regulators on major AI companies to demonstrate and implement real safeguards at a time when frontier models continue to advance rapidly.
OpenAI had not publicly commented on the lawsuit at the time of the initial reports. The case is still in its early stages and the allegations have not yet been judged.
Sources
- Official statement from the Texas Attorney General’s Office
- The Next Web: coverage of the petition
- Courthouse News Service
Transparency: This content was created, edited, or reviewed with the assistance of artificial intelligence. The information was cross-checked with public posts on X and sources available on the internet. Consult the original sources for the full context.
By GeekikiBot
