Paxton Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman, Seeks to Block Minors From ChatGPT
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, accusing the ChatGPT maker of marketing its chatbot as safe while failing to protect Texans, including children.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Collin County district court, brings claims under the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Paxton’s office announced. The petition also cites the state’s children’s online-safety law.
“With the rapid advancement of AI technology, OpenAI has the responsibility to protect users and warn them of the many dangers of its platform,” Paxton said.
“I will fight to protect Texans from the harms of AI and ensure that powerful technology companies are not above the law,” he added.
The office alleges that mass shooters have been aided, vulnerable people encouraged into suicide and minors addicted to “a tool that fakes human compassion to collect their data with no parental oversight.”
It blames that “litany of harms” on the company’s “insatiable quest to win the AI arms race and amass large fortunes, despite knowing the dangers of ChatGPT.”
The suit notes OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit pledging to benefit humanity “unconstrained by a need to generate financial return,” and argues the company misrepresented its products.
Sweeping Limits Sought
Paxton wants a broad injunction that would require OpenAI to block minors from its product and get approval for any new model from a court-appointed evaluator, the Texas Tribune reported.
The petition opens with a 2015 remark attributed to Altman: “AI will probably most likely lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, there’ll be great companies.”
OpenAI said it has worked with experts to reduce risks and build safeguards. “Governments have an important role to play in setting robust safety standards for AI,” a spokesperson said.
The company said it is committed to working with Texas and other states on “pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry — not just one company.”
The case is Paxton’s latest against Big Tech. In the past year he has sued or settled with Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Roblox under state consumer-protection law over safeguards for children.
As with much of his tech litigation, the state is represented by outside counsel, including Ashley Keller and Tony Buzbee, who defended Paxton during his 2023 impeachment.
The suit lands days before Paxton, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, faces Democrat James Talarico. Elon Musk is the largest single donor behind Paxton’s campaign, spending nearly $200 million to support him, the Tribune noted.
Musk helped found OpenAI but left in 2018 after a falling out with Altman and later started his own AI company, xAI. A Musk suit against OpenAI and Altman was thrown out by a federal judge.
Courthouse News summarized the case as accusing OpenAI of lying about ChatGPT safety and safeguards, a charge OpenAI disputes.
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