Texas is suing ChatGPT‘s makers and the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, for allegedly harming and deceiving Texans.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman on Oct. 23, alleging the company deceived Texans about ChatGPT’s safety and reliability and failed to warn them of its dangers.
“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 statement.
The 67-page lawsuit filed in a Collin County district court alleges that OpenAI violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act and the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act.
USA TODAY reached out to OpenAI for comment on the lawsuit but has not heard back.
Here’s what Paxton’s office alleges and what it’s asking for.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 29: Open AI CEO Sam Altman does a television interview with CNBC’s Kate Rooney before delivering the keynote address at the OpenAI developers conference at Fort Mason on September 29, 2026 in San Francisco, California. Altman announced new artificial intelligence personal assistant agents named “dots” to rival Meta’s Muse.
What the lawsuit alleges
The lawsuit makes two claims:
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Violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act: Alleges OpenAI, in doing business in the state, engaged in false, misleading and deceptive acts and practices, including:
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Failing to warn of ChatGPT’s dangers.
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Creating a product that provides content unsuitable for children without requiring adequate or any age verification and without parental consent.
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Creating a product where harmful information, “such as tips on eating disorders, self-harm and mass murder,” is readily available, including to children.
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Creating a product without adequate safety testing.
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Creating a product that “functions unreliably while falsely representing that reliability.”
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Violation of the SCOPE Act: Alleges OpenAI does not request or verify a parent or guardian’s identity or relationship to a minor and does not offer the parental tools the law requires, such as limits on sharing a minor’s data.
What the lawsuit wants
The state is seeking the following relief from the courts:
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Bar new AI models from being released in Texas unless an independent, court-approved evaluator reviews and approves their safety measures.
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Bar OpenAI from offering ChatGPT to minors in Texas.
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Impose civil penalties of up to $10,000 per statutory violation and asset disgorgement.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter based in Austin for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas sues OpenAI, Sam Altman over ChatGPT safety for children
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