Texas sues OpenAI, seeking limits on children's access to ChatGPT

On 23 October, the state of Texas sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, alleging that the company failed to disclose the risks and harms associated with its large language model, ChatGPT. The lawsuit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in Collin County District Court, alleges a violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, which protects consumers from deceptive business claims.

The Office of the Attorney General stated that the chatbot's use has led to suicides, shootings and the output of harmful information. The suit further alleges that the company collects children's data without parental oversight and that minors have become addicted to the product.

The lawsuit seeks several remedies relevant to families:

• Preventing minors from using the product.
• Requiring a court-appointed independent third-party evaluator to approve new ChatGPT models before their release.
• Payment of damages to the state of Texas.

An OpenAI spokesperson said the company is willing to work with the Texas government to implement stronger safety safeguards across the AI industry, according to reporting from The Texas Tribune. Paxton has previously sued other technology companies, including Meta and TikTok, for failing to protect children using their products.

The action unfolds as institutions assess their own use of these tools. The University of Texas has made ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude available to students and employees, and has released a campus-wide survey on attitudes toward generative AI, including concerns about privacy and long-term societal impact. The requirement for independent review of new models before release marks a notable turn in how regulators may approach the safety of products used by children.

Original reporting by The Daily Texan: Paxton lawsuit seeks new AI model restrictions in Texas as UT assesses policy.