Texas sues OpenAI and Sam Altman – Paxton wants minors blocked from ChatGPT

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in a Collin County district court on Friday. He cites the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the SCOPE Act on protecting minors online. The allegation: OpenAI misled consumers about ChatGPT's safety and failed to adequately disclose its risks. Paxton's office claims, among other things, that minors have become addicted to a tool that fakes human compassion to collect their data without parental oversight.

Paxton is seeking penalties, personal liability for Altman and a broad injunction. According to the Texas Tribune, OpenAI would have to block minors from ChatGPT and have new models approved in advance by a court-appointed evaluator. An OpenAI spokesperson said governments have an important role in setting AI safety standards and that the company is working with Texas and other states on rules that apply to the entire industry – “not just one company”. No court has ruled on the allegations.

Paxton is the Republican nominee for the US Senate. According to the Texas Tribune, Elon Musk – an OpenAI co-founder and now a rival – is the largest single donor to his campaign. In the past year Paxton has already sued or settled with Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Roblox over child safety.