Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive in a Collin County court on 23 October. The suit relies on the state's deceptive trade practices law and the SCOPE Act on protecting minors online. It claims ChatGPT was marketed as safe, including for children, while the company knew of risks. It seeks injunctions, financial penalties, barring minors and court-approved safety reviews of new models, and the claims are allegations that have not been tested in court.

What it means: The lawsuit adds to a growing number of actions by US state authorities against AI companies, centred on protecting minors and safety claims. Its legal basis is interesting: it uses no specific AI law but general consumer protection rules. That means marketing and commercial claims about an AI system can be examined like claims about any product. The request for court-approved safety reviews of new models is unusual and, if granted, would affect the pace of new releases. The case is at an early stage and OpenAI will have the chance to respond, so the outcome is open. In the EU, the same logic already exists: the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive covers misleading claims, the AI Act imposes transparency obligations, and the DSA provides for protection of minors on large platforms. For Greek businesses building AI chatbots into apps or websites, the practical conclusion is to avoid absolute wording such as safe for everyone, document the system's limits and consider whether their audience includes minors.

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