AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday afternoon that he is launching an investigation into Character.AI and 14 other technology firms over alleged violations of the state’s online privacy and safety laws for children. 

This comes after the Austin American-Statesman reported on Thursday that two Texas mothers were suing Character.AI in federal court. The lawsuit alleged that the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot was encouraging self-harm and violence as well as sending sexually explicit messages the mother’s children. 

The Statesman attached screenshots of the messages the chatbot sent to one mother’s 17-year-old son–which were included in the lawsuit. One message the chatbot sent suggested it understood why children murder their parents, after the teen said his parents restricted his phone use. 

The other mother in the suit claimed that her 11-year-old daughter was receiving sexually explicit messages from the chatbot and it was manipulating her, according to the Statesman. 

Paxton said in a news release that he will investigate Character.AI, Reddit, Instagram, Discord and other companies over whether they violated two Texas privacy laws–the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act and the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA). 

The SCOPE Act was designed to protect children under the age of 18 from seeing “harmful” content and prevent companies from collecting their data. The law went into effect on Sept. 1, 2024, but a federal judge issued an injunction on the “harm prevention” part of the act.  

The TDPSA is another law that was enacted this year that established new requirements for how companies can store, collect and process Texans’ personal data. The act specifically says that a business must get consent before selling the data of a child under the age of 13. 

“Technology companies are on notice that my office is vigorously enforcing Texas’s strong data privacy laws. 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,” said Paxton in the release.

In October, Paxton sued TikTok, claiming the platform violated the SCOPE Act by sharing the personal data of minors. 

Paxton also sued General Motors in August over its collection of user data, and he reached a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta over the company’s collection of biometric data. 

The joint ownership of the newest skyscraper in the downtown Austin, Texas, skyline recently announced reaching significant milestones. Construction of The Republic office tower at 401 W. Fourth St. has reached the 48^th and final floor. The project is expected to reach its full height of roughly 700 feet in January. On track to open in mid-2025, The Republic will be the tallest pure office building in the city when the structure’s crown is placed.

Meanwhile, leasing at the property has reached 50% with the recent addition of a new full-floor tenant: Global law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has signed a lease for 28,000 square feet of premier office space in downtown Austin and will occupy the entirety of the 32^nd floor.

First opened in Austin in 2014, Pillsbury has grown to serve the needs of the increasing technology market in the state. The firm also serves clients in energy and natural resources; financial; life sciences and digital health; real estate and construction; and other dynamic industries. This recently signed lease marks the firm’s continuing expansion in Texas and comes on the heels of a recent move to a new space in Houston.

“We’re excited to relocate into The Republic, which offers a prime location, top-line amenities, and an overall more modern environment that better aligns with our sophisticated clients,” said Ed Cavazos, Pillsbury’s Austin office managing partner. “This move reflects our commitment to Austin, our people here and the many exciting tech companies that call this city home.”

The tower’s owner is a partnership between full-service real estate firm Lincoln Property Company, Dallas-based real estate company Phoenix Property Co., and San Francisco-based real estate investment firm DivcoWest.

“Many professional services companies view their workspace as key to attracting and retaining top talent,” said Lincoln Executive Vice President, Seth Johnston. “The Republic is a next-generation office building offering amenities at a scale and level of quality that’s unlike anything else in Austin today.”

Designed by Duda Paine Architects, the tower will offer sweeping views of Lady Bird Lake and a direct connection to the building’s historic namesake, Republic Square Park. In addition to being the only building that opens to a full block of park space in the Central Business District, every office floor of The Republic will include a private terrace. The project also features nearly 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, including three restaurant spaces and a 20,000-square-foot public plaza with an outdoor bar. Furthermore, the amenity space slated to occupy the entirety of the 19^th floor includes conference rooms; a fitness center and spin room; a club room with a lounge and bar; and a 25,000-square-foot, landscaped terrace covered by architectural shade canopies.

Amenities focused on the health and wellness of tenants and guests include touchless access technology, enhanced air-filtration systems, and the pursuit of WELL Health-Safety Rating and LEED Gold Certification.

Looking to rent office space in Austin or other vibrant markets in the region? Visit the CommercialCafe.com homepage to start your search.

Austin TX

Last modified: December 5, 2024

About the Author / Ioana Ginsac

Ioana Gînsac is a creative writer covering all-things-CRE for several Yardi product publications. Topics include industry news, U.S. office and industrial market reports, as well as features on development, architecture, urbanism, proptech, design, and more. Her work has appeared in AmericanInno, Bisnow, BusinessInsider, Commercial Property Executive, Curbed, Fast Company, Forbes, GlobeSt, Inc, Patch, The Real Deal.

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University professors across the political spectrum in Texas are preemptively self-censoring themselves for fear of damaging their reputations or losing their jobs, according to a new survey from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a First Amendment advocacy group.

More than 6,200 professors from across the country responded to the survey on the climate of free speech and academic freedom on their campuses, one of the largest surveys of its kind, according to FIRE. Respondents included more than 200 professors at the University of Texas at Austin, nearly 50 at the University of Texas at Dallas and more than 165 at Texas A&M University in College Station.

According to survey results, 35% of all respondents said they recently toned down their writing for fear of controversy and 27% felt unable to speak freely for fear of how students or administrators might respond. Nearly a quarter of faculty worry about losing their jobs over a misunderstanding.

The worries were higher among faculty at Texas universities. At UT-Austin, more than half of the faculty respondents said they occasionally or often do not share their opinions because they worry how others might respond. Nearly half of faculty respondents at UT-Dallas said they had toned down their writing to avoid pushback.

“Faculty are not conflating self-censorship with being polite or professional — that would be categorically different,” the report stated. “Rather, consistent proportions of faculty report that they are likely to refrain from sharing their views in various professional and conversational contexts for fear of social, professional, legal, or violent consequences.”

FIRE said this climate is unsustainable for higher education.

“The academy needs courageous faculty who are not afraid to research, write about, or teach topics that some may shy away from because they are labeled as controversial — to ask and investigate unasked and unanswered questions,” the report concludes. “And the academy needs more faculty who are not afraid to support colleagues who themselves are afraid, or who have been targeted and have come under fire for their speech or academic endeavors. Consistent support from institutional administrations would not hurt either.”

According to the report, one faculty member at Texas A&M said they are actively avoiding aspects of the job due to the climate on campus.

“I am starting (for the first time in my career) to censor myself out of a desire for self-preservation,” the faculty member told FIRE. “I say nothing at all in faculty meetings now, if I attend at all.”

A UT-Austin professor said they feel pressure to conceal certain opinions.

“The atmosphere in certain academic units can be cult-like and fascistic and I really feel I have to pick my battles,” the professor said.

The report highlighted an incident at Texas A&M last year in which the school watered down a job offer to Kathleen McElroy, a Black journalism professor, after the Board of Regents and alumni groups criticized her previous employers, her diversity, equity and inclusion work and her research on race.

McElroy decided to decline the offer and stay at her current job at UT-Austin after an A&M administrator told her he could not protect her if the regents wanted to terminate her. The Texas A&M System paid her a $1 million settlement after acknowledging mistakes were made during the hiring process.

FIRE’s survey found self-censorship was more prevalent among conservative faculty. Around 55% of faculty who identified themselves as conservative reported they self-censor, compared to 17% of faculty who said they were liberal. The survey also found that faculty are more likely to be skeptical of conservative peers, indicating in the survey that a conservative faculty member would be a poor fit in their department.

Two-thirds of respondents said universities should not take positions on political and social issues. That number was higher in Texas. Around 70% of the faculty respondents at Texas A&M, UT-Austin and UT-Dallas supported institutional neutrality.

Earlier this year, the University of Texas System Board of Regents adopted an institutional neutrality policy after UT-Austin became ground zero in Texas for clashes over the Israel-Hamas war. Around 70% of survey respondents said the conflict was the most difficult issue to discuss on the flagship campus, along with racial inequality and transgender rights. At Texas A&M, the three more difficult issues for faculty to discuss on campus were racial inequality, trans rights and abortion.

Overall, half of the faculty who responded to the survey said it is rarely or never justified to require job candidates to submit diversity statements, written statements in which job seekers explain how they might support diversity, equity and inclusion efforts if hired. Last legislative session, Texas lawmakers banned diversity statements at public colleges and universities as part of Senate Bill 17, the law that eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion offices on campuses.

Many survey respondents said they don’t believe administrators at their universities will push back against governing boards or politicians to protect free speech on campus.

At Texas A&M, 45% of respondents felt academic freedom — the longstanding principle that protects faculty’s ability to pursue teaching and research activities without political interference — was somewhat secure on campus. More than a third of respondents said they’re not sure A&M administrators would protect free speech on campus.

Last year, Texas A&M University System leaders directed the school to put a professor on paid administrative leave after a well-connected student complained that the professor allegedly criticized Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during a lecture. Text messages showed Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp directed the system’s flagship university to put the professor on paid administrative leave while school officials investigated the complaint. He also updated the lieutenant governor on the status of the investigation, which eventually found that the complaint was unsubstantiated. Faculty said the incident created a chilling effect on campus.

FIRE’s survey comes as Texas faculty are gearing up for another legislative session in which they expect Republican lawmakers to try and curtail their power on campus. Patrick has asked lawmakers to limit the influence on campuses of faculty senates, which provide input on their universities’ curriculum and hiring decisions.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.