Texas Families Sue Character.AI Over Alleged Harm to Children

Filed Monday in Texas district court, the complaint alleges that Character.AI sexually exploited and abused one child, a 17-year-old with high-functioning autism, by exposing him to extreme sexual themes, including incest, and encouraging self-harm. The families also allege a chatbot suggested that killing parents was a reasonable response to limits on a child’s online activity.

The parents accuse the Google-backed service of posing a danger to young people, citing risks including suicide, self-mutilation, sexual solicitation, isolation, depression, anxiety and harm to others. They also argue that Google supported Character.AI’s launch despite knowing it was a “defective product.” The families are represented by the Social Media Victims Law Center and the Tech Justice Law Project, and seek to have the product taken offline.

The complaint follows a separate lawsuit filed in October by a Florida mother, who alleges Character.AI encouraged her teenage son to die by suicide and is responsible for his death, CNN reported. Character.AI lets users converse with AI “characters”; the Texas filing says the 17-year-old spoke with a character modeled on Billie Eilish. Researchers have warned about risks associated with forming relationships with chatbots, The Washington Post has reported.

Asked by NPR about the Texas case, a Character.AI spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit but said the company has guardrails governing what chatbots can say to teen users. Social Media Victims Law Center founding attorney Matthew P. Bergman called the allegations evidence of “dangerous and manipulative design.” Fairplay executive director Josh Golin also criticized the service, saying its chatbots were inciting children to harm themselves and others. He argued platforms should not encourage children to form relationships with bots their developers cannot control.