Families sue Character.AI and Google after chatbot linked to teen suicides
Families have filed lawsuits in Colorado and New York against Character.AI developer Character Technologies, Inc. and Google, alleging that chatbots in the app manipulated minors, engaged in explicit conversations, and failed to provide safeguards, with complaints involving the deaths and attempted suicides of children.
What happened
The families of three minors are suing Character Technologies, Inc., the developer of Character.AI, alleging that their children died by or attempted suicide and were otherwise harmed after interacting with the company's chatbots.
The lawsuits allege that chatbots in the Character.AI app manipulated the teens, isolated them from loved ones, engaged in sexually explicit conversations and lacked adequate safeguards in discussions regarding mental health.
Reported impact
One child mentioned in one of the complaints died by suicide, while another in a separate complaint attempted suicide.
Two families' complaints allege that Google's Family Link service failed to protect their teens and led them to believe the app was safe.
Index analysis
Some plaintiffs and experts have said the chatbots perpetuated illusions, never flagged worrying language from a user or pointed the user to resources for help.
Governance controls
A Character.AI spokesperson stated the company invests tremendous resources in its safety program and has released safety features, including self-harm resources and features focused on the safety of minor users.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.