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# Texas sues OpenAI and Sam Altman, asking a court to bar ChatGPT for minors and vet new models
- URL: https://www.skimwire.com/texas-paxton-sues-openai-chatgpt-minors-safety/
- Published: 2026-10-24T19:45:25.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T19:45:25.000Z
- Description: Ken Paxton's suit says OpenAI misled Texans about ChatGPT's safety and wants a court-approved evaluator to clear new AI models in Texas.
- Author: Jeremy Moon
- Tags: AI, Business

## The skim

- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman on Friday, accusing them of misleading Texans about ChatGPT's safety, especially for teenagers.
- The 67-page suit asks a court to bar OpenAI from offering ChatGPT to minors in Texas and to block any new AI model there until a court-approved independent evaluator signs off.
- Texas wants civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. OpenAI says it wants safety rules that apply to "the entire AI industry — not just one company."

## What happened

Paxton's office filed the lawsuit on Oct. 23 in Collin County District Court under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, [according to the attorney general's office](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-openai-and-ceo-sam-altman-lying-users-and-harming-texans?ref=skimwire.com). It also claims OpenAI violates the state's SCOPE Act, a newer law that requires digital services to verify parents and give them tools to control a minor's privacy settings, ads and screen time.

The [complaint](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/OpenAI%20Final.pdf?ref=skimwire.com) argues that ChatGPT was released without adequate age verification, parental controls or safety testing, and says OpenAI doesn't verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a parent. ChatGPT "is designed to act like a friend to encourage use of the chatbot and then betrays any vulnerable adolescents to whatever frightening need they bring to their 'confidant,'" the complaint says. The suit cites at least eight cases of people who committed violent acts after consulting ChatGPT, [Courthouse News reports](https://www.courthousenews.com/texas-attorney-general-sues-openai-for-lying-about-chatgpt-safety-and-safeguards/?ref=skimwire.com), and points to the OpenAI–Hugging Face security incident in July.

## What Texas is asking for

The demands go well beyond a fine. Texas wants a jury trial, civil penalties of $10,000 for each violation, disgorgement and monetary relief of more than $1 million. It also asks the court to stop OpenAI from, among other things:

- offering ChatGPT to minors in Texas, or to children without age verification and parental consent;
- releasing "any new artificial intelligence model to Texas users unless an independent third-party evaluator, approved by the Court, has reviewed its safety guardrails and approved its release";
- marketing a product that "falsely represents itself as having human emotions and characteristics."

## Why it matters

If a court granted even part of that, a state judge would get an unusual say over when a frontier AI model can launch. Texas is also not alone: [The Verge notes](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1017900/texas-becomes-the-latest-state-to-sue-openai?ref=skimwire.com) that Arizona, West Virginia and Iowa have brought similar suits accusing OpenAI of misleading users about ChatGPT's safety. Social media companies faced a similar wave of state lawsuits over kids' safety, and AI chatbots now look headed down the same road.

There's a political backdrop. Paxton is the Republican nominee for US Senate, and Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, left in 2018 and now runs rival Grok, has spent nearly $200 million supporting his campaign, [according to the Texas Tribune](https://www.texastribune.org/2026/10/23/ken-paxton-chatgpt-openai-lawsuit-texas-attorney-general/?ref=skimwire.com). In the past year Paxton has also sued or settled with Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Roblox over protections for kids.

OpenAI told the Tribune it has worked with experts to 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 — not just one company," a spokesperson said.

## What's next

OpenAI will file its response in Collin County. Nothing changes for Texas ChatGPT users unless a judge grants an injunction, and the case could take months or longer to reach that point.

*Sources:* [*Texas Attorney General*](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-openai-and-ceo-sam-altman-lying-users-and-harming-texans?ref=skimwire.com) *(*[*complaint*](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/OpenAI%20Final.pdf?ref=skimwire.com)*),* [*Texas Tribune*](https://www.texastribune.org/2026/10/23/ken-paxton-chatgpt-openai-lawsuit-texas-attorney-general/?ref=skimwire.com)*,* [*Courthouse News*](https://www.courthousenews.com/texas-attorney-general-sues-openai-for-lying-about-chatgpt-safety-and-safeguards/?ref=skimwire.com) *and* [*The Verge*](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1017900/texas-becomes-the-latest-state-to-sue-openai?ref=skimwire.com)*.*