Texas AG Ken Paxton proposes federal ban on Chinese tech in data centers and criminal liability for harmful AI

Ken Paxton is running for US Senate, and he has a plan. On August 24, Texas’s attorney general unveiled a four-point federal legislative platform centered on data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure, proposing a ban on Chinese-linked technology in US data centers and criminal penalties for operators whose facilities power AI chatbots that harm children. What Paxton is actually proposing The platform has two federal pillars. The first would prohibit Chinese-linked technology from operating inside US data centers and critical infrastructure, a proposal that aligns with Paxton’s stated support for Senator Tom Cotton’s DATA Act, introduced January 7, 2026. The second pillar is more novel: making data center operators criminally liable if their facilities are used to run AI chatbots that endanger children. That is a significant shift from the current framework, where platform liability sits primarily with software companies rather than the physical infrastructure underneath them. On the state level, Paxton wants to repeal Texas’s sales tax exemptions for data centers. Currently, companies must invest at least $200 million and create at least 20 jobs to qualify for those e...