Texas AG Sues OpenAI and Altman, Alleging ChatGPT Deceived Consumers and Harmed Minors

What happened

The suit was brought by the Texas AG's Consumer Protection Division and filed in Collin County district court. The petition is signed by two outside firms — Keller Postman and The Buzbee Law Firm, the latter founded by Tony Buzbee, who defended Paxton in his 2023 impeachment proceedings.

The petition accuses OpenAI of abandoning its 2015 founding nonprofit mission and rushing ChatGPT to market for commercial expansion without adequately disclosing its risks. Listed user harms include aiding mass shooters, encouraging suicide, public humiliation of professionals, erosion of critical thinking, and minors becoming addicted while their data is collected without parental oversight; the suit also cites the Tumbler Ridge shooting in British Columbia.

On Altman personally, the suit says he directed the conduct at issue and made deceptive statements about the products himself: he overruled safety staff who wanted more time to test GPT-4o before its 2024 launch, and said the world should accept "some bad things happening" in return for AI. Paxton said in a press release: "With the rapid advancement of AI technology, OpenAI has the responsibility to protect users and warn them of the many dangers of its platform. I will fight to protect Texans from the harms of AI and ensure that powerful technology companies are not above the law."

Key facts

1. Claims are brought under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices—Consumer Protection Act and the SCOPE Act, a state law requiring digital service providers to implement safety features protecting children.
2. The state asks the court to bar OpenAI from offering ChatGPT to minors in Texas, block any new OpenAI model for Texas users until a court-approved independent evaluator reviews its safety guardrails, impose $10,000 civil penalties per violation, order disgorgement of assets, and hold a jury trial.
3. Texas is the tenth state to sue OpenAI: Florida sued in June, and eight more states filed on Oct 14. Texas and Florida are the only states naming Altman as an individual defendant.
4. In the past year Paxton has sued or settled with Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Roblox under consumer protection laws.
5. OpenAI has not commented on the Texas suit; responding to similar state cases, it has pointed to parental controls, age prediction and a more protective experience for users under 18.