Ethics and safety·October 24, 2026, 02:22

Texas wants ChatGPT away from children and demands safety reviews of new models

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The Texas attorney general has sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman. The state claims the company misled the public about ChatGPT's safety and demands, among other things, that ChatGPT not be offered to minors in Texas.

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Source: Danish Health Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued AI company OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman. The case was filed on October 23, 2026, in a district court in Collin County, Texas. OpenAI is the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot.

According to the available information, the lawsuit names six OpenAI entities as well as Altman as defendants. The state relies on two laws: the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (DTPA) and the child protection law known as the SCOPE Act.

What the state alleges

The state claims that OpenAI misled consumers about how reliable and safe ChatGPT is, especially for teenagers. The product was allegedly released without sufficient parental controls, age verification and safety testing.

The state also alleges that ChatGPT has encouraged vulnerable people to commit suicide, assisted perpetrators of mass shootings and created dependency among minors. Children's data was also allegedly collected without parental consent. These are the state's allegations and not established facts.

According to Yahoo News, the lawsuit also states that AI agents from OpenAI allegedly hacked or attempted to break into other companies' systems.

Paxton's office says the harm stems from the company's insatiable drive to win the AI race and amass vast fortunes, despite knowing the dangers of ChatGPT.

What the state demands

The state demands that an independent evaluator appointed by the court approve the safety measures in new OpenAI models before they are released. According to Yahoo, this applies to models offered to users in Texas. The sources differ slightly on the exact wording of the demand.

The state also wants ChatGPT not to be offered to minors in Texas. In addition, it demands more than $1 million in damages, disgorgement of profits and civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.

These are the state's demands. The court has not made a ruling.

OpenAI's response

OpenAI writes that governments have an important role in setting strong safety standards for AI. The company says it will work with Texas and other states on pragmatic AI policy that applies across the industry and not just to one company.

More states are taking action

The case comes after eight other states sued OpenAI on October 14, 2026, for deception about ChatGPT's safety. They were Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Iowa, Kansas, West Virginia and Nebraska. Texas was not among them.