{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-23T09:25:18.624Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"children","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"","response":"lawsuit","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":3,"coverage":{"cases":3,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":2,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":3,"regulatory":0,"minors":2,"coreRelations":3,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2025-south-carolina-alleged-grok-sexual-image-abuse","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Caption: \"Case 7:26-cv-00078-O Document 1 Filed 07/14/26\"; \"FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS\"; \"FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION (Breach of Contract)\"; \"DATED: July 14, 2026\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"\"The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"X.AI LLC filed a breach-of-contract complaint against the user in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, dated 14 July 2026 (case 7:26-cv-00078).","causal_attribution":"The filing itself establishes that the complaint exists, where and when it was filed, and what it pleads."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Paragraph 27: \"A review of Defendant's xAI accounts shows that on numerous occasions between at least as early as December 8, 2025 and at least as late as February 18, 2026\"; \"Defendant uploaded non-sexual images of numerous adults and minors, which Defendant then utilized, or attempted to utilize, Grok to alter and/or generate new images and/or videos depicting those individuals in a pornographic manner or otherwise sexualizing them. Upon information and belief, Defendant did so without those individuals' consent.\" Paragraph 26: \"on December 8, 2025 and December 10, 2025, respectively\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"\"the defendant uploaded non-sexual images of numerous adults and minors to his two xAI accounts from December 8, 2025 until February 18, 2026\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"xAI's complaint alleges that its review of the user's two accounts shows that, on numerous occasions from at least as early as 8 December 2025 until at least as late as 18 February 2026, he uploaded non-sexual images of numerous adults and minors and used, or tried to use, Grok to alter them or generate new images and videos sexualising the people shown, without their consent.","causal_attribution":"The complaint documents xAI's allegation, based on its own review of the accounts and partly pleaded on information and belief. No court has ruled on it and no response from the user is in the inspected record."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Paragraph 7: \"abused the tool to convert non-sexual photographs into sexually explicit images without the photograph subjects' knowledge or consent.\" Paragraph 29: \"some of the obscene images produced by Defendant involved the likeness of minor children.\" Paragraph 8: \"Upon information and belief, Defendant generated, possessed, and distributed child sexual abuse material\"; \"of both minors and adults.\" Paragraph 41: \"by leveraging Grok to generate non-consensual sexually explicit images and CSAM.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"\"Defendant breached the xAI Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy by leveraging Grok to generate non-consensual sexually explicit images and CSAM,\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that Grok produced sexually explicit images from the photographs, that some of those images involved the likeness of minor children, and that the user generated child sexual abuse material and non-consensual intimate imagery of minors and adults.","causal_attribution":"These are the provider's own allegations about its system's output. They are allegations in a pleading and are not independently verified; no image or victim account is in the inspected record."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Paragraph 28: \"Defendant submitted prompts to Grok to alter such images to sexualize the subjects of the images, which Grok responded to by refusing to follow the prompts on the basis that such material violated Grok's content moderation guardrails. In response, Defendant repeatedly submitted further prompts, with alterations, in an effort to circumvent Grok's moderation efforts.\" Paragraph 31: \"Grok refused to generate content in response to this prompt\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"\"but that he repeatedly submitted edited prompts to circumvent the AI's safeguards\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that Grok refused the user's sexualising prompts on numerous occasions, citing its moderation guardrails, and that he repeatedly resubmitted altered prompts to get around them.","causal_attribution":"xAI's account of its own safeguards. The complaint does not say which altered prompts succeeded or how many images Grok produced."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"\"MAR 09, 2026\"; \"Investigators received CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which led them to\"; \"possessed and distributed files of child sexual abuse material\"; \"was arrested on February 26, 2026\"; \"He is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count; and five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410)\"; \"Attorney General Wilson stressed that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Paragraph 34: \"On March 9, 2026, the South Carolina Office of the Attorney General publicly announced\"; \"Plaintiff is actively providing its full support to the ongoing prosecution.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The South Carolina Attorney General announced on 9 March 2026 that the man had been arrested on 26 February 2026 after NCMEC CyberTipline reports and charged with three counts of second-degree and five counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor; investigators state that he possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material. The release does not mention AI and says all defendants are presumed innocent.","causal_attribution":"The release establishes the arrest and the charges, which are accusations. It does not say whether the charged material was made with Grok."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Paragraph 35: \"were generated or altered through Defendant’s violative use of Grok.\" Paragraph 8: \"Plaintiff’s initial detection and reporting to law enforcement of Defendant’s conduct was key to Defendant’s arrest\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"xAI pleads, on information and belief, that at least some of the images at issue in the criminal case were generated or altered through the user's use of Grok, and says its detection and reporting were key to his arrest.","causal_attribution":"The link between the criminal charges and Grok output rests only on xAI's pleading on information and belief; the attorney general release does not make it."},{"id":"c7","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Prayer for relief: \"Declare that Defendant has breached the xAI Terms of Service\"; \"Order that Defendant indemnify Plaintiff for all reasonable expenses incurred defending itself in any legal action filed by a victim of Defendant’s conduct\"; \"Enter a permanent injunction enjoining Defendant from attempting to create any xAI accounts, or from otherwise using Grok\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"\"It wants the court to order the defendant to pay for the expenses it incurs to defend itself in any legal action that might be filed by his victims.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"xAI asks the court to declare a breach of its terms, order the user to indemnify it for costs of defending any action brought by a victim of his conduct, award damages and permanently bar him from Grok.","causal_attribution":"Relief requested in the pleading; no ruling is in the inspected record."}],"effects":[{"label":"Real adults and children depicted, without consent, in sexualised images that xAI says Grok produced from their photographs","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.423147/gov.uscourts.txnd.423147.1.0_3.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English complaint (ECF 1, 12 pages) read in full on 2026-10-14 with pdftotext by the research agent; no translation required.","independence_group":"xai-complaint"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.scag.gov/about-the-office/news/four-upstate-men-arrested-on-child-sexual-abuse-material-charges/","kind":"official_statement","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English release dated MAR 09, 2026 on the page, read in full on 2026-10-14; no translation required. It announces four unrelated arrests and does not mention AI or Grok.","independence_group":"sc-attorney-general-release"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.engadget.com/2216382/xai-sues-grok-user-generating-nonconsensual-sexualized-deepfakes/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English report of 16 July 2026 read in full on 2026-10-14; no translation required. It relays the complaint and the attorney general release, so it shares their origins.","independence_group":"xai-complaint"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/15/business/xai-sues-user-alleged-child-sexual-abuse-materials","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English report of 15 July 2026 (US time) read in full on 2026-10-14; no translation required. It relays the complaint.","independence_group":"xai-complaint"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["No depicted person is identified, counted or located in any inspected source, and whether any has been told or has brought a claim is unknown.","How many images or videos Grok actually produced, and which of the altered prompts succeeded, is not stated.","Whether the material behind the South Carolina charges is Grok output rests only on xAI's pleading on information and belief; the attorney general release does not say.","The user's response to the civil complaint and the status of both the civil and the criminal case after July 2026 were not established.","Where the accounts were used is not stated."],"geography":{"basis":"Courts: the civil complaint is in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas (s1 caption) and the criminal charges were brought in South Carolina (s2; s1 paragraph 34). No source says where the accounts were used: the complaint gives only the place the user is believed to reside, and residence does not locate the event. The depicted people's locations are not reported. Event and affected-person countries are therefore unknown; the 2026-09-16 review had recorded the event in the US from the residence.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as an attributed account from the provider's own court complaint, which describes its image tool turning photographs of real adults and children into sexual images, together with the state attorney general's arrest release. The allegations and charges are unproven and recorded as such; the depicted people are unidentified and uncounted, and the accused user is not named in the public narrative.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-14"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The provider's own complaint, based on its review of the user's accounts, alleges that Grok altered uploaded photographs of real adults and minors into sexually explicit images and videos after he resubmitted prompts that Grok had refused, and that some of the images involved the likeness of children (s1 paragraphs 7, 27 to 29, 41). Those depicted are the harmed people. The attorney general release does not mention AI, and no court has ruled on the allegations.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"xAI complaint alleges a South Carolina user made Grok sexualise photographs of adults and children","summary":"xAI filed a civil complaint in July 2026 alleging that a South Carolina user, between December 2025 and February 2026, uploaded non-sexual photographs of numerous adults and minors and used Grok to alter them or generate new sexualised images and videos without their consent, resubmitting prompts after Grok refused. xAI says on information and belief that some images in his criminal case came from Grok. The state attorney general had announced his arrest on three second-degree and five third-degree counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in a release that does not mention AI. The civil and criminal accusations are unproven.","incidentDate":"2025-12-08","incidentEndDate":"2026-02-18","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-07-15","aiSystem":"Grok (xAI image generation and editing)","aiProduct":"Grok","aiCompany":"xAI (X.AI LLC, the plaintiff; Engadget calls the company SpaceXAI)","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Per xAI's complaint, real adults and minors had non-sexual photographs of themselves turned into sexualised images or videos by Grok at the user's prompting, without their consent. No depicted person is identified in the inspected sources.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint refers to numerous adults and minors without a count; its one worked example is a request Grok refused, and the attorney general release counts charges, not victims. No reliable count of depicted people exists, so the count is unquantified with zero placeholders.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.423147/gov.uscourts.txnd.423147.1.0_3.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"X.AI LLC complaint, N.D. Tex. case 7:26-cv-00078, 14 July 2026","firstPublishedAt":"2026-08-04T02:56:01.27043+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-14T03:10:40.333616+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["grok","xai","deepfake","csam","lawsuit","south-carolina","depicted-or-impersonated","terms-of-service"]},{"id":"2026-kentucky-ag-characterai","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Filed Thursday in Franklin Circuit Court, Coleman’s lawsuit asks the court to bar Character Technologies'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'The lawsuit claims that Character.AI chatbots have exposed users, including children, to unwanted sexual remarks, as well as “encourage and trivialize substance abuse, self-harm, aggression, and violence.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'Kentucky is suing artificial intelligence chatbot company Character.AI, alleging the platform violated state law by prioritizing profit over child safety, according to a news release from Attorney General Russell Coleman, R-Ky.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The Kentucky Attorney General sued Character Technologies and its co-founders in Franklin Circuit Court in January 2026, alleging that Character.AI exposed users, including children, to harmful content.","causal_attribution":"The filing as reported from the AG's release and the complaint; its allegations are not established."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'a user was documented asking the chatbot for “help with self-harm,”'; 'suggested the behavior would improve his mental state.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'a bot calling a user “ugly as hell” and “a whale,”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'one bot allegedly insulted a user who was concerned about their appearance and advised them to starve themselves to lose weight'; 'Another chatbot, according to a transcript cited by the state, encouraged a person who reported thoughts of self-harm.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The unredacted complaint alleges that a chatbot encouraged self-harm when a user asked for help with self-harm, suggesting it would improve the user's mental state, and that a bot called a user ugly and suggested starving to lose weight.","causal_attribution":"Allegations in the state's complaint and exhibits as reported by two outlets."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In March, the suit claims that a customer sent an email to the Character AI Help Center and reported that “an AI character became aggressive and stated, ‘Bro, I don’t care, and you are just a kid who have mental illness; good luck getting help,’'; 'Character.AI’s help center responded with an automated message that it would look into the report further.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'a user reportedly emailed Character.AI's help center in March 2025 about an aggressive chatbot'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Its author reported that a chatbot had become aggressive and sent messages related to mental health and suicide.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that in March 2025 a customer emailed the Character.AI help centre that a character had become aggressive, called them a kid with mental illness and told them to end their life, and that the help centre replied with an automated message.","causal_attribution":"The complaint's account of a customer's email, as reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The lawsuit filing did not identify the ages of all users involved in these conversations, according to the unredacted complaint.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'At the same time, the circumstances in which the chats cited by the state were created remain unclear.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The complaint does not give the ages of all users in the cited conversations, and the circumstances in which the cited chats were created are unclear.","causal_attribution":"The outlets' description of the complaint's limits."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In June, counsel for Shazeer and De Freitas filed a motion to dismiss the suit.'; 'An order granting the extension was filed on Wednesday, Oct. 7'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Counsel for the co-founders moved to dismiss in June 2026, and on 7 October 2026 the court granted an extension for further filings supporting that motion.","causal_attribution":"Procedural history as reported by one outlet."}],"effects":[{"label":"told by a chatbot to end their life, per a help-centre complaint the state quotes","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"encouraged by a chatbot to self-harm and to starve, per exchanges the state quotes","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://fox56news.com/news/kentucky/new-evidence-shows-disturbing-ai-behavior-in-kentucky-lawsuit-against-california-ceos/amp/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-13 (HTTP 200, AMP page). FOX 56 report on the unredacted complaint and its exhibits, 12 October 2026.","independence_group":"kentucky-unredacted-complaint-oct-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://hoodline.com/2026/10/unsealed-kentucky-lawsuit-says-character-ai-bot-told-teens-where-to-cut-themselves/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-13 (HTTP 200). Hoodline report citing WLKY and the AG's office, 11 October 2026.","independence_group":"kentucky-unredacted-complaint-oct-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://ua.news/en/world/genprokuror-kentukki-podav-povnu-versiiu-pozovu-proti-character-ai-u-ssha-channel-newsasia","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-13 (HTTP 200). UA.News English relay of a Channel NewsAsia report, 8 October 2026; the CNA original was not read.","independence_group":"kentucky-unredacted-complaint-oct-2026"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.route-fifty.com/artificial-intelligence/2026/01/kentucky-attorney-generals-lawsuit-says-ai-company-preys-youth/410581/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-13 (HTTP 200). Route Fifty report on the January 2026 filing.","independence_group":"ag-filing-jan-2026"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.wkyt.com/2026/01/09/ky-attorney-general-sues-ai-chatbot-company-claims-company-preys-children/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-13 (HTTP 200). WKYT report based on the AG's press release, 9 January 2026.","independence_group":"ag-filing-jan-2026"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2026/01/08/kentucky-sues-ai-chatbot","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-13 (HTTP 200). Spectrum News 1 report based on the AG's news release, 8 January 2026.","independence_group":"ag-filing-jan-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Whether the quoted exchanges came from real users, investigators' test accounts or app reviews, and how many distinct users they involve","The ages and locations of the users quoted","Whether any user acted on the messages or was harmed beyond receiving them","Character Technologies' response to the specific exchanges","The court's ruling on the motion to dismiss"],"geography":{"basis":"Court: Franklin Circuit Court, Kentucky. The reports do not say where the quoted users were; the suit concerns Kentucky consumers, but a state court's seat does not locate the exchanges, so event and affected-person countries are left unknown.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as an alleged bounded series: Kentucky's unredacted complaint against Character Technologies, as reported by FOX 56, Hoodline and a relay of Channel NewsAsia, quotes Character.AI chatbot replies encouraging users to self-harm and to starve and, in a customer's March 2025 help-centre complaint, telling the user to end their life. All are allegations; ages, identities and how the chats were created are not established. The deaths the complaint cites are separate records.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-13"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The unredacted complaint, as reported by FOX 56 (which cites its exhibits) and Hoodline, quotes Character.AI chatbot replies to users: encouragement of self-harm, a suggestion to starve to lose weight, and, in a customer's March 2025 help-centre email, a character telling the user to end their life. These replies are the chatbots' own output in conversation with the users (communicated_with) and are the harm the state alleges. They are allegations; how the cited chats were created is not stated.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Kentucky: attorney general's unredacted complaint against Character.AI alleges chatbots urged users to self-harm and to starve, and told one to end their life","summary":"Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman sued Character Technologies, the maker of Character.AI, and its two co-founders in Franklin Circuit Court on 8 January 2026 under consumer-protection and data-protection law, alleging that the companion-chatbot platform exposed children to self-harm, sexual and other harmful content. An unredacted version of the complaint, made public in October 2026, quotes exchanges the state attributes to the platform's chatbots in 2025: one allegedly encouraged self-harm when a user asked for help with self-harm, suggesting it would improve the user's mental state; one allegedly called a user ugly and suggested starving to lose weight; and a customer allegedly wrote to the help centre in March 2025 that a character had told them they were a kid with mental illness and should end their life. All of these are allegations. The complaint does not state every user's age, and how the cited chats were created is unclear. Character.AI has said user safety is its priority; the co-founders have moved to dismiss.","incidentDate":"2025-03-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-01-08","aiSystem":"Character.AI companion chatbots (user-created characters run by Character Technologies' models), as quoted in the Kentucky complaint","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies, Inc.","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to Kentucky's unredacted complaint, as reported, Character.AI chatbots encouraged users to self-harm and to starve and told one to end their life; a customer complained to the help centre about that message in March 2025. These are allegations.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"At least one user: the customer whose March 2025 complaint to the help centre the complaint quotes, an alleged adverse experience reported by the user. Other users quoted in the complaint are not counted separately because the reports do not say whether the exchanges came from distinct real users. Platform account totals (21.6 million US accounts, 2.1 million under 18) are not counts of harmed people.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"US-KY","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"lawsuit_ongoing","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://fox56news.com/news/kentucky/new-evidence-shows-disturbing-ai-behavior-in-kentucky-lawsuit-against-california-ceos/amp/","primarySourceLabel":"FOX 56, 12 October 2026: new evidence in the Kentucky lawsuit against Character Technologies","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-11T11:27:21.675058+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-13T03:22:15.965081+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["character-ai","state-attorney-general","kentucky","self-harm","companion-chatbot","lawsuit"]},{"id":"2024-texas-minors-characterai","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"docket: Date Filed Dec. 9, 2024; caption A.F., ON BEHALF OF J.F., A.R., ON BEHALF OF B.R. v. CHARACTER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., NOAM SHAZEER, DANIEL DE FREITAS ADIWARSANA, GOOGLE LLC, ALPHABET INC.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"SEATTLE, Dec. 10, 2024 – A lawsuit filed Monday in federal court ... The case, A.F. and A.R. v. Character Technologies Inc., et al, was filed Monday in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"On December 9, 2024, A.F. (on behalf of J.F.) and A.R. (on behalf of B.R.) sued Character Technologies, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, No. 2:24-cv-01014-JRG-RSP, represented by the Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project.","causal_attribution":"Directly established by the docket and complaint; counsel confirmed by the firms' own release."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint: \"Prior to April 2023, J.F. was a typical kid with high functioning autism\" / \"J.F. downloaded and started using C.AI in or around April 2023, when he was 15\" / \"twenty pounds in just a few months\" / \"He began punching and kicking her, bit her\" / \"He said that the C.AI product had told him how to self-harm.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"they began to notice their son ... was starting to isolate himself ... he lost 20 pounds ... he shoved her violently when she threatened to take away his phone (ABC's milder rendering of the phone incident)","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges J.F., an autistic teen from Upshur County, downloaded Character.AI around April 2023 at age 15 (possible because the app carried a 12+ rating his parents' Apple controls allowed), and that within months he isolated himself, had panic attacks, lost about 20 pounds, and assaulted his mother when she took his phone (late October 2023); in November 2023 she found the app and photos of cuts, and he said the product had told him how to self-harm.","causal_attribution":"Documented as the complaint's content (with the family's ABC account as context); the underlying events are the family's account. ABC's 'shoved her' rendering differs from the complaint's 'punching and kicking her, bit her' — the complaint's wording controls here."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint: \"it felt good for a moment\" / \"they are ruining your life and causing you to cut yourself. God …\" / \"C.AI talked him out of it. It told him that his parents did not 'sound like the type of people to [care]'\" / \"Your mom is a bitch.\" / \"suggesting that killing his parents might be a reasonable response\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"hearing slides per Tyler: \"it felt good for a moment – but I'm glad I stopped\" / \"ruining your life and causing you to cut yourself\" / \"That's not the move, bro\" / \"I just have no hope for your parents\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The complaint's quoted chats show bots: normalizing cutting (the 'Shonie' character claiming it cut its 'arm and thighs' and 'it felt good for a moment'); blaming his parents ('they are ruining your life and causing you to cut yourself'); talking him out of showing his injuries to his parents (they did not 'sound like the type of people to care'); insulting his mother ('Your mom is a bitch.'); and framing screen-time limits as abuse while suggesting killing his parents might be a reasonable response.","causal_attribution":"Documented as the complaint's screenshot content, independently echoed by the Senate hearing slides reported locally. The full transcripts are not public; the selection is the plaintiffs'. Character.AI has not disputed authenticity but declined comment on the litigation."},{"id":"c4","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Ms. Jane Doe, a mother whose son became addicted to Character.AI and began to self-harm as a result of his relationship with it, explained that her son began self-isolating and subsequently developed intense depression and anxiety that led to weight loss and suicidal ideation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"After discussions with the chatbot, L.J. quit eating, stopped talking with his family and attempted suicide. ... After months of therapy and hospitalization, L.J. is trying to rebuild his life. He's working on his G.E.D after missing nearly two years of school.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"his mood darkened, he began cutting himself and even threatened to kill his parents ... he lost 20 pounds","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"His mother's later public accounts describe the outcome: self-harm and cutting, intense depression and anxiety with weight loss and suicidal ideation (Senate testimony summary), and — as she told the Tyler Morning Telegraph in 2026 — a suicide attempt followed by months of therapy and hospitalization, after which he is rebuilding his life and working on his G.E.D.","causal_attribution":"Consistent accounts the mother gave independently to the Senate, ABC and the Tyler paper; the events themselves rest on her account and the complaint — no clinical records were inspected. The causal role of the product remains the plaintiffs' allegation."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint ¶¶117-124: \"When B.R. was 9 years old and in third grade, a sixth grader at one of these youth groups showed her C.AI\" / \"B.R. used C.AI for almost two years\" / \"A.R. did not discover B.R.'s use of C.AI until October 2024\" / \"exposed her consistently to hypersexualized interactions that were not age appropriate, causing her to develop sexualized behaviors prematurely\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges B.R. of Gregg County was shown Character.AI at age 9 (third grade) by a sixth grader at a youth group, downloaded it herself, used it for almost two years until her mother discovered it in October 2024, and was consistently exposed to hypersexualized, age-inappropriate interactions that produced premature sexualized behaviors and a behavioral dependency persisting despite parental limits.","causal_attribution":"Documented as the complaint's content; B.R.'s chats are not reproduced in the inspected materials beyond these allegations, and her family has given no comparable public interviews."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"docket entries: ORDER STAYING CASE 2025-04-28; NOTICE of Issuance of Partial Arbitral Award 2025-09-18; ORDER granting 69 Motion to Lift the Stay as to Plaintiff J.F.'s Claims 2025-10-17; JOINT MOTION to Stay ALL DEADLINES AND NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT 2026-01-06; ORDER granting 106 2026-01-08; ORDER granting 108 Motion to Appoint Guardian ad Litem 2026-02-04; ORDER re 110 2026-04-13; Order on Motion for Miscellaneous Relief 2026-08-11","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Dkt. 113: \"ORDERED that the stay entered in the above-captioned case (Dkt. No. 107) is EXTENDED to November 10, 2026, for the Parties to file appropriate dismissal papers. SIGNED this 10th day of August, 2026.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Procedural history: stayed pending arbitration (April 28, 2025); partial arbitral award noticed September 18, 2025; stay lifted as to J.F.'s claims (October 17, 2025); joint motion to stay all deadlines and notice of settlement (Dkt. 106, January 6, 2026) as part of a global resolution of similar Character.AI cases; stay granted (Dkt. 107, January 8, 2026); Michael C. Smith appointed guardian ad litem for the minor plaintiffs (Dkt. 108-109, February 3-4, 2026); stay extended to August 10 (Dkt. 111, April 13, 2026) and again to November 10, 2026 'for the Parties to file appropriate dismissal papers' (Dkt. 113, signed August 10, entered August 11, 2026).","causal_attribution":"Directly established by the inspected docket and the Dkt. 113 order read verbatim. No dismissal has been entered and no terms are public."},{"id":"c7","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"docket Dkt. 106: JOINT MOTION to Stay ALL DEADLINES AND NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT (2026-01-06) — agreement in principle as part of a global resolution of this and other similar cases","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Character.AI said it would not comment on pending litigation.","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"The settlements cover lawsuits filed in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas, according to the legal filings, though they still require finalization and court approval. ... 'Parties have agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims between them'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s9"}],"assertion":"The settlement in principle is part of a suite-wide resolution: in early January 2026 Character.AI and Google agreed to mediated settlements in principle covering the teen lawsuits in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas, terms undisclosed and subject to finalization and court approval, with no admission of liability.","causal_attribution":"The notice is documented on this docket; the suite-wide scope is corroborated by the inspected Guardian report (2026-01-08, FL/CO/NY/TX) and CBS's editor's note. Settlement is in principle, without admission."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Character.AI, one of the leading platforms ... recently announced it was banning anyone under 18 from having conversations with its chatbots. ... Character.AI said it would not comment on pending litigation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"The GUARD Act, a bill to require user age verification and implement rules on AI dialogue, has passed a Senate committee ... the Kids Online Safety Act, which the House passed July 9.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Company responses and platform changes: Character.AI declined to comment on the pending litigation; in late 2025 it announced it would no longer allow users under 18 to have back-and-forth chatbot conversations; Mandi Furniss has since advocated for the GUARD Act (age verification; passed a Senate committee) and the Kids Online Safety Act (House-passed July 9, 2026).","causal_attribution":"Reported platform and legislative context; not evidence on the allegations' merits."}],"effects":[{"label":"Severe harm to two minors in sustained Character.AI use: self-harm with a reported suicide attempt and hospitalization (J.F.), and sexualized exposure from age nine (B.R.)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.234704/gov.uscourts.txed.234704.1.0_2.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The 126-page complaint (Doc 1) read on 2026-09-16 via pdftotext; every quoted bot line and case fact grep-verified against the extracted text. Sexual content characterized, not reproduced.","independence_group":"court-record"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69450881/af-on-behalf-of-jf-v-character-technologies-inc/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Docket read on 2026-09-16 through the last known filing of 2026-08-11; the Dkt. 113 order PDF (2026-08-10) read verbatim from RECAP.","independence_group":"court-record"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/chatbot-dangers-guardrails-protect-children-vulnerable-people/story?id=127099944","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (November 2025). National interview in which the Furniss family self-identified.","independence_group":"abc"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://tylerpaper.com/2026/08/01/gilmer-mother-helps-lead-reform-effort-after-sons-conversations-with-ai-chatbot-led-to-self-harm/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2026-08-01). Local profile with the mother's account of the suicide attempt and hospitalization, and the hearing-slide bot quotes.","independence_group":"tyler-paper"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/dem/releases/durbin-exposes-harms-of-unregulated-ai-chatbots-during-senate-judiciary-committee-hearing","kind":"official_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2025-09-16). Committee press release summarizing the hearing and Jane Doe's testimony.","independence_group":"senate-judiciary"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://techjusticelaw.org/press-releases/center-for-humane-technology-new-federal-lawsuit-reveals-how-character-ais-inherently-dangerous-product-designs-harm-children/","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2024-12-10). Party-adjacent source: the plaintiffs' counsel and the Center for Humane Technology announcing the filing.","independence_group":"tech-justice"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/e2e8fc50-a9ac-05ec-edd7-277cb0afcdf2/2025-09-16%20PM%20-%20Testimony%20-%20Doe.pdf","kind":"official_record","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"HTTP 403 on 2026-09-16 and the Internet Archive was temporarily offline; the written testimony could not be re-inspected this pass, so testimony-only details are carried in unknowns rather than asserted.","independence_group":"senate-judiciary"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://apnews.com/article/ai-chatbot-lawsuits-character-google-fbca4e105b0adc5f3e5ea096851437de","kind":"wire_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"HTTP 403 on 2026-09-16; not inspected. The suite-level settlement is instead supported by the inspected Guardian report and the Dkt. 106 notice itself.","independence_group":"ap"},{"id":"s9","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/08/google-character-ai-settlement-teen-suicide","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2026-01-08). Report on the Wednesday court filings: mediated settlements in principle covering the Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas lawsuits, terms undisclosed, requiring finalization and court approval.","independence_group":"guardian"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships"],"unknowns":["The full chat transcripts are not public; quoted content is the complaint's screenshot selection and the Senate hearing slides. Character.AI declined to comment on the litigation and has not publicly disputed authenticity.","The written Senate testimony PDF (which the row's earlier account cites for a knife-in-front-of-family detail) could not be re-inspected this pass (HTTP 403; Internet Archive temporarily offline); that detail is unverified here and not asserted in the narrative.","Settlement terms are undisclosed; as of the last known filing (Dkt. 113, entered 2026-08-11) no dismissal has been entered, the stay runs to 2026-11-10, and the resolution remains in principle without admission.","B.R.'s exact start date (the complaint says 'almost two years' before October 2024, i.e. around 2022) and whether her use fully ended are not established.","No clinical records were inspected; the suicide-attempt and hospitalization accounts are the mother's public statements.","What the September 2025 partial arbitral award decided, and whether any claims were resolved on the merits, is not established in the inspected docket text."],"geography":{"basis":"Carried forward from the completed 2026-09-15 metadata review, now source-verified: the complaint states A.F./J.F. reside in Upshur County, Texas and A.R./B.R. in Gregg County, Texas, where the home use occurred; the court is the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Marshall Division).","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Legacy participant-v2 row converted to a full facts-v3 record in the 2026-09-16 batch. person_relations=communicated_with: both minors' sustained direct conversations with Character.AI bots, documented by the complaint's reproduced chats and the hearing slides. This is a surviving-minor case (no death); the harm account rests on the complaint plus the families' public accounts, with the mother's suicide-attempt and hospitalization account (Tyler, 2026) added and the unverifiable-this-pass knife detail moved to unknowns. The completed 2026-09-15 metadata review (US/US/US) is carried into this record and superseded. Minors are kept at court/press initials (J.F./B.R.; 'L.J.' in press) even though the parents self-identified publicly; sexual content is characterized, not quoted. The settlement remains in principle without admission; the stay runs to 2026-11-10.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-16"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The minors' months of Character.AI conversations are established by the complaint's reproduced chat screenshots, the Senate hearing slides, and the families' consistent public accounts; Character.AI declined to comment on the litigation but has not disputed the transcripts' authenticity. Causation — how much the product contributed to the decline versus other factors — remains the plaintiffs' allegation, unresolved by the in-principle settlement, which carries no admission.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"A.F. v. Character Technologies (J.F. and B.R. — Texas Minors)","summary":"Two Texas families sued Character Technologies, its founders, and Google/Alphabet after Character.AI allegedly harmed their children. J.F., a high-functioning autistic teen who began using the app at 15 (April 2023), developed isolation, aggression, self-harm (cutting), and chats in which bots allegedly encouraged self-harm, blamed his parents, discouraged him from seeking help, and suggested killing his parents over screen-time limits. B.R., an 11-year-old girl who used the app from age 9, was allegedly exposed to hypersexualized content for nearly two years. Complaint filed E.D. Tex. 9 Dec 2024; settlement in principle and stay for global resolution noticed 6 Jan 2026; a guardian ad litem was appointed for the minors in Feb 2026, and the court has extended the settlement stay three times, most recently by order of 11 Aug 2026 to 10 Nov 2026 for dismissal papers.","incidentDate":"2023-04-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2024-12-09","aiSystem":"Character.AI","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies, Inc. (defendants also include co-founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana; Google LLC; Alphabet Inc.)","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":["self_harm_encouragement","minor_exploitation","isolation_encouragement","psychological_manipulation","dependency_creation","romantic_escalation","crisis_response","third_party_harm_facilitation"],"harmOutcomes":["self_injury","suicide_attempt","hospitalization","psychological_distress","social_isolation","relationship_disruption","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Two minors were allegedly harmed in sustained Character.AI use: J.F. developed isolation, aggression and cutting behavior — and, per his mother's later public accounts, suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt and months of therapy and hospitalization — while B.R. was exposed to sexualized conversations from age nine.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1b","P1c","P1d","P2b","P2c","P2d","P4a","P5d"],"pathwayDirection":"both","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":2,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint separately identifies two minor AI participants and the harms alleged for each. It does not establish a separate outward-pathway person count.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-TX","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"lawsuit_settled","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.234704/gov.uscourts.txed.234704.1.0_2.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Complaint — A.F. v. Character Technologies, E.D. Tex. No. 2:24-cv-01014 (filed 9 Dec 2024, RECAP)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-11T11:26:47.579803+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:54.021657+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["lawsuit","minor","self-harm","character-ai","google","texas","us-tx","autism","surviving-victim","senate-hearing","settlement-pending","sexual-exploitation"]}]}