The Pulse
Texas Seeks to Bar Minors From ChatGPT and Review New Models
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued OpenAI and Sam Altman on October 23, 2026, alleging consumer-protection and child-safety violations. The state is asking a court to bar ChatGPT access for minors in Texas and require court-approved ind
AI.info Team · Written with AI · fact-checked ·
“With the rapid advancement of AI technology, OpenAI has the responsibility to protect users and warn them of the many dangers of its platform.”
Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general, in an October 23 statement
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued OpenAI, its affiliated companies and chief executive Sam Altman on October 23, asking a state court to impose sweeping limits on ChatGPT. Among the requested remedies: barring the service for minors in Texas and requiring court-approved independent review before new AI models are released to Texas users. The requests are part of a lawsuit, not restrictions already imposed on the company.
Texas asks for a ban on ChatGPT access for minors
The petition, filed in Collin County district court, accuses OpenAI of misleading users about ChatGPT’s safety, accuracy and reliability, and of failing to warn them about potential harms. Texas brings claims under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices–Consumer Protection Act and the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act, known as the SCOPE Act.
The state alleges that OpenAI failed to provide legally required parental tools and to verify the identity and relationship of a parent or guardian for a known minor. It says the alleged shortcomings include controls for parents to supervise a child’s use and limit the handling of a minor’s personal information. Those assertions are claims in the petition, not findings by a court.
In its request for an injunction, Texas asks the court to prohibit OpenAI from offering ChatGPT to minors in the state, as well as from making the service accessible to children without adequate age verification or parental consent. The requested restrictions also address content Texas describes as harmful to children and features it says promote compulsive or prolonged use.
A court-approved evaluator could gate new releases
Texas also asks the court to bar releases of any new AI model to Texas users unless an independent evaluator approved by the court has reviewed its safety guardrails and approved its release. That would put an external review step between OpenAI’s model development and availability in the state, if a judge grants the request.
The state seeks monetary relief of more than $1 million and asks for civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each alleged violation. The petition also requests temporary and permanent injunctions, along with other relief. The filing does not mean a court has accepted Texas’s claims or ordered OpenAI to change ChatGPT.
Paxton’s claims remain allegations
Paxton’s office describes ChatGPT as unsafe and says OpenAI failed to protect Texans, including children. The petition makes broader allegations involving inaccurate or harmful responses, self-harm, violence and users’ reliance on the chatbot. Those descriptions reflect the state’s case; the lawsuit itself does not establish that OpenAI caused the harms it lists.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Texas Tribune, which reported the filing. As of the lawsuit’s announcement, the state’s demands for a minors’ ban and third-party review remained requests for a court to consider. ChatGPT access had not been changed by the filing itself.