Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues ChatGPT-maker OpenAI

Published at 1:05 p.m. on Monday, October 26, 2026

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT. He says the company has misled people in Texas and caused them harm. This is the latest in a series of lawsuits that the state's top lawyer has filed against large technology companies and private businesses. Paxton is also running for the U.S. Senate.

The lawsuit was filed on Friday in a district court in Collin County. It names OpenAI and its founder, Sam Altman. The lawsuit begins with a quote from Altman in 2015: “AI will probably most likely lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, there’ll be great companies.”

Paxton says OpenAI has not done enough to control how ChatGPT is used, and that people in Texas have been harmed as a result.

“Mass shooters have been aided and abetted in deadly rampages, vulnerable people have been encouraged into suicide, professionals have suffered public humiliation, users have lost critical thinking skills, and minors have become addicted to a tool that fakes human compassion to collect their data with no parental oversight,” Paxton’s office said in a press release. “This litany of harms is driven by the company’s insatiable quest to win the AI arms race and amass large fortunes, despite knowing the dangers of ChatGPT.”

Paxton's office is asking the court for a broad order that would limit what OpenAI can do. Among other things, the order would require the company to stop minors from using its product and get approval for every new AI model from an evaluator chosen by the court.

Over the past year, Paxton has sued or reached settlements with Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Roblox under Texas consumer protection laws. He has accused these companies of failing to put strong enough protections in place for Texans, especially children.

OpenAI has a complicated history with Elon Musk, a billionaire technology businessman who is the biggest individual donor supporting Paxton's Senate campaign. Musk has given nearly $200 million to support the candidate. Musk helped start OpenAI but left in 2018 after a bitter disagreement with Altman about the company's future and who should control it. OpenAI later launched ChatGPT, while Musk started his own company, xAI.

In 2024, Musk sued OpenAI and Altman for $1.5 billion. A federal judge eventually dismissed the lawsuit, allowing ChatGPT to continue growing and dominate the market. Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, has faced its own scandals. It has been criticized for allowing users to create fake pornographic images based on photos, including photos of children. Texas has not taken action against Musk over this issue, but California's attorney general has started an investigation.

An OpenAI spokesperson said the company has worked with experts to reduce risks and add more safety protections.

“Governments have an important role to play in setting robust safety standards for AI, and we’re committed to working with Texas and other states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry — not just one company,” the OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement.

As with many of Paxton's major lawsuits against technology companies, outside lawyers are representing his office. They include Ashley Keller, who often works on such cases, and Tony Buzbee, who represented Paxton during his 2023 impeachment proceedings.

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This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.