Texas AG launches investigation into 15 tech companies for violating child privacy law

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that he is investigating more than a dozen companies for child privacy and safety violations, including Reddit, Instagram, Discord and an artificial intelligence company behind a chatbot that suggested a teen kill his parents.

The laws Paxton believes the 15 companies have violated are the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act and the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA).

The SCOPE Act bars digital service providers from sharing, disclosing or selling minors’ personal identifying information without permission from a parent or guardian. The TDPSA requires companies to meet tough notice and consent requirements if they collect and use minors’ personal data. 

“Technology companies are on notice that my office is vigorously enforcing Texas’s strong data privacy laws,” Paxton said in a statement. “These investigations are a critical step toward ensuring that social media and AI companies comply with our laws designed to protect children from exploitation and harm.”

In October, Paxton sued TikTok for violating the SCOPE Act’s safety and privacy rules.

Paxton has been aggressively enforcing Texas’ new privacy law. He sued General Motors for its data privacy practices in August and more recently has sent violation notices to eight companies he accused of violating Texans’ data privacy rights.

In July, Paxton settled with Meta for $1.4 billion for illegally collecting and using facial recognition data.

Correction: Headline and story corrected 10:30 a.m. Eastern U.S. time on December 13 to specify 15 companies face investigation.