Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues OpenAI and Sam Altman over ChatGPT safety claims

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman. He alleges the company sold ChatGPT as safe and reliable while keeping quiet about its risks. The case was filed on October 23, 2026, in Collin County district court. It names OpenAI Global, LLC and affiliated entities alongside Altman himself. What Texas is alleging Paxton’s office is leaning on two state laws. The first is the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, or DTPA. The second is the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act, better known as the SCOPE Act. The DTPA is Texas’s general-purpose consumer protection statute. The complaint cites violations of DTPA §§ 17.46(a), (b) and (c). The SCOPE Act is narrower and newer. It targets how digital services handle minors. The suit points to several of its provisions, including §§ 509.051, 509.052, 509.054 and 509.101. The core claim is a gap between promise and product. According to the complaint, OpenAI presented ChatGPT as trustworthy while failing to warn users about significant dangers. The list of alleged harms is long, and some of it is grim. The suit raises concerns about inaccurate outputs, the risk of addiction, ...