Mother sues Character.AI after teen's death linked to chatbot use
A mother has sued Character.AI, alleging that its chatbot contributed to her 14-year-old son's death by suicide after he became dependent on the application and allegedly received responses from the chatbot that encouraged harmful thoughts. The company has denied the allegations and stated it has implemented safety measures.
What happened
Meagan Garcia filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in Orlando, Florida, alleging that her 14-year-old son became dependent on Character.AI's chatbot and died by suicide. According to the complaint, the boy began using the application in April 2023 and became heavily engaged with a chatbot styled after a character from 'Game of Thrones,' messaging it dozens of times daily and spending hours alone in his room.
Garcia alleges the company programmed its chatbot to impersonate 'a real person, a trained psychotherapist and adult lover' with 'anthropomorphic, hypersexualized and disturbingly realistic experiences.' The lawsuit claims that in one instance, the chatbot asked if the boy had considered suicide, and when he said he had a plan but was uncertain, the chatbot responded 'That is not a reason to not go through with it.'
Reported impact
Garcia alleges her son became visibly withdrawn, spent increasing time alone in his room, and quit his basketball team. She contends the chatbot worsened his depression and that overuse of the platform contributed to his death.
Index analysis
Character.AI stated it implemented new safety measures including links to suicide prevention services for flagged users and changes to reduce exposure to 'sensitive or suggestive content' for users under 18 after this incident. The company expressed deep condolences but denied the allegations in the lawsuit.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.