{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-24T03:01:15.557Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"pennsylvania","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":6,"coverage":{"cases":6,"countries":2,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":3,"regulatory":1,"minors":2,"coreRelations":2,"contextualRelations":3,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":1,"relationPending":1,"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":"2019-us-rite-aid-facial-recognition-false-matches-led-staff-to-search-and-eject-shoppers-ftc-says","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The technology generated alerts sent to Rite Aid’s employees, including by email or mobile phone application notifications (“match alerts”), indicating that individuals who had entered Rite Aid stores were matches for entries in Rite Aid’s watchlist database.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Rite Aid used facial recognition in its stores to send employees match alerts saying that people entering were matches for its watchlist database, and employees acted on the alerts.","causal_attribution":"FTC allegation; Rite Aid neither admits nor denies."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In numerous instances, the match alerts that led to these actions were false positives' and 'Rite Aid employees recorded thousands of false positive match alerts between December 2019 and July 2020.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The FTC alleges that in numerous instances the alerts that led employees to watch, eject, accuse, search or report customers to police were false positives, and that employees recorded thousands of false-positive alerts between December 2019 and July 2020.","causal_attribution":"FTC allegation from Rite Aid records; not adjudicated."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Rite Aid employees stopped and searched an 11-year-old girl on the basis of a false- positive facial recognition match. The girl’s mother told Rite Aid that she had missed work because her daughter was so distraught by the incident.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Employees stopped and searched an 11-year-old girl on a false-positive match; her mother told Rite Aid she missed work because her daughter was so distraught.","causal_attribution":"FTC allegation based on a complaint to Rite Aid."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'an alert indicating that a consumer—' and 'specifically a Black woman—was a match for an enrollment image that Rite Aid employees' and 'described as depicting “a white lady with blonde hair.” In response to the alert, Rite Aid' and 'employees called the police and asked the woman to leave the store before realizing the alert was'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The system matched a Black woman to an enrollment image employees described as a white woman with blonde hair; employees called the police and asked her to leave before realising the alert was false.","causal_attribution":"FTC allegation drawn from Rite Aid's internal investigation."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Consumers complained to Rite Aid that they had experienced humiliation and feelings of stigmatization as a result of being confronted' and '[E]very black man is not [a] thief nor should they be made to feel like one' and 'I feel different from this experience when I walk into a store now it’s weird.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Customers complained of humiliation and stigmatisation from false-positive stops; one wrote of feeling different entering stores afterwards and of being made to feel like a thief.","causal_attribution":"Consumer complaints as quoted by the FTC."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'are prohibited for five (5) years from the effective date of this Order from deploying or using, or assisting in the deployment or use of, any Facial Recognition or Analysis System' and 'Defendants neither admit nor deny any of the allegations in the Complaint'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Rite Aid agreed to a proposed stipulated order prohibiting it for five years from using facial recognition or analysis systems in retail stores, while neither admitting nor denying the complaint's allegations.","causal_attribution":"Terms of the filed proposed order; its entry by the court was not inspected."}],"effects":[{"label":"girl stopped and searched on a false facial-recognition match","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"police called and customer asked to leave on a false match","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"humiliation and stigmatisation from false-positive stops","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2023190_riteaid_complaint_filed.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-22 from the Internet Archive capture (ftc.gov direct returned 404); no translation needed. FTC complaint, E.D. Pa. 2:23-cv-05023, Document 1, filed 19 Dec 2023; the text of page 1 was not extractable.","independence_group":"ftc-v-rite-aid-2023-filings"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2023190_riteaid_stipulated_order_filed.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-22 from the Internet Archive capture (ftc.gov direct returned 404); no translation needed. Proposed stipulated order and attached decision and order, Document 2-2, filed 19 Dec 2023.","independence_group":"ftc-v-rite-aid-2023-filings"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","privacy"],"unknowns":["When and where the girl was searched and the police were called on the woman.","Which vendors supplied the technology (the complaint does not name them in the text read).","Whether and when the court entered the proposed order.","How many customers were stopped, searched or ejected on false matches."],"geography":{"basis":"The complaint places Rite Aid's facial recognition use in its US stores (New York City, Los Angeles and other US cities); it was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The described customers' countries are not stated.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a contextual case (made_claim_about, informed_decision_about): the FTC alleges Rite Aid's facial recognition wrongly matched customers to a watchlist and staff acted on the false alerts by searching an 11-year-old girl and calling police on a woman; Rite Aid agreed to a five-year ban without admitting the allegations.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-22"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The FTC complaint says Rite Aid's facial recognition system compared customers' faces with a watchlist and sent employees match alerts, that the alerts were in numerous instances false positives (the system wrongly identified a person as someone in the database), and that employees acted on those false alerts by searching an 11-year-old girl, calling police on a Black woman and asking customers to leave. The system's own wrong matches are the alleged error; Rite Aid neither admits nor denies.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about","informed_decision_about"]},"name":"US: FTC says Rite Aid's facial recognition falsely matched shoppers to a watchlist, leading staff to search an 11-year-old girl and call police on a woman","summary":"In a complaint filed in federal court in Pennsylvania on 19 December 2023, the US Federal Trade Commission alleged that the pharmacy chain Rite Aid used facial recognition in its stores to match customers against a database of people it suspected of shoplifting or other wrongdoing, and that staff acted on the match alerts by following, searching, ejecting and publicly accusing customers and by calling the police. The FTC says many alerts were false positives: employees recorded thousands of false-positive alerts between December 2019 and July 2020, staff stopped and searched an 11-year-old girl on a false match, and employees called the police on a Black woman matched to an image of a white woman with blonde hair. Rite Aid agreed to a proposed order barring it from using facial recognition in retail stores for five years, without admitting or denying the allegations.","incidentDate":"2019-12-01","incidentEndDate":"2020-07-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2023-12-19","aiSystem":"Facial recognition technology from two vendors (not named in the complaint) that Rite Aid deployed in its stores to compare customers' faces with a watchlist database and send match alerts to employees","aiProduct":"Unidentified facial recognition system","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","reputational_harm","other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The FTC alleges that false facial-recognition matches led Rite Aid staff to search, eject, publicly accuse and call police on customers, including an 11-year-old girl who was searched and a Black woman on whom police were called; customers described humiliation and stigmatisation.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":3,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"Three people described individually in the complaint: the 11-year-old girl searched on a false match, the Black woman on whom police were called, and the customer who wrote about being treated as a thief. The complaint's thousands of recorded false-positive alerts are alerts, not counted people, so others remain unquantified.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2023190_riteaid_complaint_filed.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"FTC v. Rite Aid Corp., E.D. Pa. 2:23-cv-05023, complaint filed 19 Dec 2023","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-22T03:13:38.451275+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-22T03:13:38.451275+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["facial_recognition","retail","alleged_false_match","ftc"]},{"id":"2025-us-bank-customers-allege-pega-voice-ai-transcribed-and-analysed-customer-service-calls-without-consent","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Page headers: 'Case 1:26-cv-14506-DLC Document 1 Filed 10/02/26'; para 5: 'Wiretapping Statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 99, and the Pennsylvania'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Four U.S. Bank account holders filed a putative class action against Pegasystems Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on 2 October 2026, claiming violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, the Massachusetts wiretapping statute and the Pennsylvania wiretapping act.","causal_attribution":"The filing documents that the claims were made; it does not establish them."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Para 2: 'Pega Voice AI is employed by numerous entities, including U.S. Bank'; 'to monitor voice and text-based interactions'. Para 20: 'Pega Voice AI is an artificial intelligence tool that'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that U.S. Bank uses Pegasystems' Pega Voice AI, an artificial-intelligence tool for live customer-service calls, in its contact centres.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiffs' allegation, which the complaint supports with Pega's own published customer material about U.S. Bank; not yet answered by Pegasystems."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Para 47: 'occasions, including in or about January 2026 from his home'. Para 8: 'was in California when he spoke to a representative from U.S. Bank over the phone from his home on multiple occasions, including in or about December 2025'. Para 9: 'was in Massachusetts when he spoke to a representative from U.S. Bank over the phone from his home on multiple occasions'. Para 10: 'was in Pennsylvania when he spoke to a representative from U.S. Bank over the phone from his home on multiple occasions, including in or about March 2026 and August 2026'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The plaintiffs say they called U.S. Bank's customer service line from their homes on multiple occasions: two from California (in or about December 2025 and January 2026), one from Massachusetts (in or about June 2026) and one from Pennsylvania (in or about March and August 2026).","causal_attribution":"Plaintiffs' own account of their calls."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Paras 50, 57, 64, 71: 'monitored the conversation between Plaintiff'; 'conversations with U.S. Bank using natural language processing, and generated suggestions to the U.S. Bank agent'. Para 51: 'read and learned, in'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that on each plaintiff's calls Pega Voice AI monitored the conversation with the human U.S. Bank agent, transcribed it in real time, analysed it with natural language processing and generated suggestions to the agent, so that Pegasystems read and learned the contents of the conversations.","causal_attribution":"Allegation of what the AI service did on these calls; no court has found that it captured the plaintiffs' calls."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Paras 52, 59, 66, 73: 'consent, express or otherwise, to have Defendant eavesdrop on'. Para 49: 'provided personal information such as his home address his account number and his date of birth'. Para 70: 'including his account numbers, account names, account balances, and other account information'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The plaintiffs say neither U.S. Bank nor Pegasystems obtained their prior consent to the vendor listening in, and that on the calls they gave personal and account details, such as a home address, account number and date of birth, or account numbers and balances.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiffs' account of what they disclosed and of the absence of consent."}],"effects":[{"label":"bank customers say an AI service transcribed and analysed their customer-service calls, including account details, without their consent","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.307198/gov.uscourts.mad.307198.1.0.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Class action complaint, D. Mass. No. 1:26-cv-14506, filed 2 October 2026; all 40 pages read on 2026-10-21 from the CourtListener RECAP copy.","independence_group":"dmass-plaintiffs-complaint"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["privacy","finance"],"unknowns":["Whether Pega Voice AI in fact ran on the plaintiffs' calls; the complaint infers its use from Pegasystems' published material about U.S. Bank.","What, if anything, callers were told at the start of the calls about recording or analysis.","Whether Pegasystems retained transcripts or call contents after the calls.","Pegasystems' response; the CourtListener index of the docket checked on 21 October 2026 listed none."],"geography":{"basis":"The complaint says each plaintiff was at home in California, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania when calling U.S. Bank (paras 7-10; para 68 says the Pennsylvania plaintiff called from his home and/or business). The court is the federal court in Massachusetts.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-10-06 privacy clarification: four named bank customers allege in a filed complaint that an AI transcription and analysis service, run by a vendor they never chose inside their bank's contact centre, captured their calls and account details without prior consent. The captures are allegations and no court has ruled.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-21"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The complaint alleges that Pega Voice AI itself monitored each plaintiff's call with a U.S. Bank agent, transcribed it in real time, analysed it with natural language processing and generated suggestions to the agent, so that the vendor read and learned the contents of the calls, including account details, without the caller's prior consent. That capture into an AI transcription and analysis service is the reported privacy harm.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["received_personal_information"]},"name":"U.S. Bank customers allege in a class action that Pega Voice AI transcribed and analysed their customer-service calls without consent","summary":"Four U.S. Bank account holders in California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania allege in a federal class action filed on 2 October 2026 that Pegasystems' Pega Voice AI, which they say U.S. Bank uses in its contact centres, transcribed their customer-service calls in real time, analysed them with natural language processing and generated suggestions to the agent, without their prior consent. They say they gave account numbers, a date of birth and a home address on the calls, made between about December 2025 and August 2026. The claims are allegations; The CourtListener index of the docket, checked on 21 October 2026, listed the summons as returned executed on 16 October and no response from Pegasystems.","incidentDate":"2025-12-01","incidentEndDate":"2026-08-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-02","aiSystem":"Pega Voice AI, Pegasystems' AI agent-assist service for contact centres, which the complaint says U.S. Bank uses on customer-service calls (as alleged)","aiProduct":"Pega Voice AI (reported)","aiCompany":"Pegasystems Inc.","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Four bank customers allege that an AI service they never chose transcribed and analysed their customer-service calls, including account details, without their consent; the claims are untested.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":4,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Four named plaintiffs each allege that their own calls were transcribed and analysed without consent (complaint paras 7-10 and 47-74). Proposed class members are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"lawsuit_ongoing","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.307198/gov.uscourts.mad.307198.1.0.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Class action complaint against Pegasystems Inc., D. Mass. No. 1:26-cv-14506, filed 2 October 2026","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-21T03:08:54.693563+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-21T03:08:54.693563+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["pega-voice-ai","contact-centre","call-transcription","privacy","wiretap","class-action","banking"]},{"id":"2025-delaware-county-pennsylvania-student-charged-after-app-animated-photos-of-freshman-girls-into-videos","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I am writing to address concerns and rumors regarding an AI-generated video that was reported to depict several of our students in an inappropriate manner,'; 'The principal said families of the students involved have been contacted and provided with support.'; 'The email also stated that the school immediately began an internal investigation and notified'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"In early December 2025 the high school's principal wrote to families about an AI-generated video that was reported to depict several students in an inappropriate manner, saying the families of the students involved had been contacted and the township police notified.","causal_attribution":"The principal's email as quoted by 6abc; it relays a report and does not say the school saw the video."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'five freshman girls first heard they were victims of deepfakes on Dec. 2, according to parents of two of the victims who requested anonymity to protect their daughters’ identities.'; 'They said boys told their daughters that a male classmate had made videos depicting them sexually.'; 'The girls and their parents never saw the videos.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to parents of two of the victims, five freshman girls were told in early December by boys that a male classmate had made videos depicting them sexually; the girls and their parents never saw the videos.","causal_attribution":"The mothers' account to the Inquirer."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The male classmate acknowledged making videos of the girls dancing in thong bikinis, the parents said police told them. But the app he used was deleted from his phone, and the videos were not on it, the police told them.'; 'The police told parents they did not subpoena the app or any social media companies, making it impossible to know what was created.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The parents said the police told them the classmate acknowledged making videos of the girls dancing in thong bikinis, that the app he used had been deleted from his phone and the videos were not on it, and that the police did not subpoena the app or social media companies.","causal_attribution":"The parents' relay of what the police told them; the police declined to comment to the Inquirer."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'had taken “publicly available” photos of other students and “used an app that animates images, making them appear to move and dance.”'; 'the alleged images were never discovered and the district’s message was cowritten by'; '“No evidence shared with law enforcement depicted anything inappropriate or any other related crime,” the message said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'In a follow-up email on Jan. 16, the district said \"no evidence shared with law enforcement depicted anything inappropriate or any other related crime.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A district message of 16 January 2026, which a district spokesperson said was co-written by the police, said a student had taken publicly available photos of other students and used an app that animates images to make them appear to move and dance, and that no evidence shared with law enforcement depicted anything inappropriate.","causal_attribution":"The district's message (co-written with the police, per its spokesperson) as quoted by the Inquirer; CBS quotes the same email."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'After being alerted in December of 2025 of the possible use of AI to generate non-consensual sexualized imagery of multiple juveniles'; 'in collaboration with the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office and specifically the Delaware County ICAC Detective Division. As a result of the investigation, a juvenile offender was charged with the crime of harassment for their conduct.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'But just days later, in a Facebook post on Jan. 23,'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The township police said in a press release that, after being alerted in December 2025 to the possible use of AI to generate non-consensual sexualized imagery of multiple juveniles, they investigated with the Delaware County District Attorney's Office and its ICAC detective division, and a juvenile was charged with harassment; the charge was announced on 23 January 2026.","causal_attribution":"The police press release as quoted by Main Line Media News; CBS gives the date of the police announcement. The police describe the AI use as possible."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“she said everyone was staring at her,” said her mother, who requested anonymity to protect her daughter’s identity.'; '“She just felt like no one believed her,”'; 'parents said their daughters were offered little support'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A victim's mother said that when her daughter walked into school the next morning everyone was staring at her, that her daughter felt no one believed her, and parents said their daughters were offered little support.","causal_attribution":"The mothers' own accounts to the Inquirer (anonymous)."},{"id":"c7","status":"disputed","evidence":[{"locator":"'“The district’s and the police department’s investigations have found no evidence that the images remain or were shared, posted, or otherwise circulated,” she said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A district spokesperson said the alleged images were never discovered and that the district's and the police department's investigations found no evidence that the images remain or were shared, posted or otherwise circulated.","causal_attribution":"The district's account, which parents contest; recorded as counterevidence about the content and spread of the videos."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“The non-consensual use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to create, modify, distribute, or solicit sexualized, indecent, or intimate content involving another person is strictly prohibited and constitutes sexual harassment,” the new language reads.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"In April 2026 the school board adopted policy language prohibiting the non-consensual use of generative AI to create, modify, distribute or solicit sexualized, indecent or intimate content involving another person.","causal_attribution":"The Inquirer's report of the adopted policy text."}],"effects":[{"label":"girls told a classmate had made sexual videos of them; one stared at in school and felt disbelieved","claim_id":"c6","direction":"negative"},{"label":"videos made from publicly available photos of students with an app that animates images","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.inquirer.com/education/radnor-council-rock-school-district-ai-deepfakes-20260217.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 February 2026, with its own interviews of two victims' mothers (anonymous) and statements from the district spokesperson; read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"inquirer-17-feb-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.mainlinemedianews.com/2026/02/11/radnor-parents-demand-policy-changes-over-student-generated-sexualized-ai-images/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Main Line Media News, 11 February 2026, quoting the township police press release on the charge; read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"police-press-release-jan-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/radnor-school-district-ai-generated-images/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"CBS Philadelphia, 10 February 2026, on the district's emails and the police announcement; live HTTP 406, Internet Archive capture read in full.","independence_group":"cbs-philadelphia-10-feb-2026"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://6abc.com/post/radnor-high-school-pennsylvania-alerts-families-inappropriate-ai-video-depicting-students/18268641/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"6abc Philadelphia, 9 December 2025, quoting the principal's email to families; read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"principal-email-dec-2025"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.inquirer.com/education/radnor-school-district-ai-deepfake-policy-20260422.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The Philadelphia Inquirer, 22 April 2026, on the school board's policy change; read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"inquirer-22-apr-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy"],"unknowns":["Which app the classmate used and what the videos showed; the police did not subpoena the app and the videos were not recovered.","Whether the videos were sexual, as the girls were told, or showed dancing in bikinis, as the parents say the police described.","Whether the videos were shared beyond the classmates who described them, and the outcome of the juvenile charge."],"geography":{"basis":"The township police in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, investigated with the county District Attorney's Office, and the depicted girls are students at a high school in the township (Inquirer, Main Line Media News, 6abc).","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): a police-co-written district message says a student used an app that animates photos to make videos of classmates, the police describe possible AI generation of sexualized imagery of multiple juveniles and charged a juvenile with harassment, and parents describe their daughters being stared at and disbelieved at school. The AI involvement is suspected, the app is unnamed, and whether the videos were sexual is disputed.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-18"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"A district message that its spokesperson says was co-written by the police states that a student used an app that animates publicly available photos of other students to make them appear to move and dance, and the parents say the police told them the classmate acknowledged making videos of the girls with an app. The township police describe the case as the possible use of AI to generate non-consensual sexualized imagery of multiple juveniles and charged a juvenile with harassment. The app is not named, the videos were not recovered, and whether they were sexual is disputed between the parents and the district.","status":"suspected"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Pennsylvania police charge a student with harassment after reported AI videos of freshman girls; district says an app animated their photos","summary":"In December 2025 a high school in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, told families about an AI-generated video reported to depict several students inappropriately. Parents told the Philadelphia Inquirer that five freshman girls were told by boys that a male classmate had made sexual videos of them; the girls never saw the videos. The parents say police told them the classmate acknowledged making videos of the girls dancing in thong bikinis with an app later deleted from his phone. A January 2026 district message, which the district says was co-written by the police, said a student used an app that animates publicly available photos to make them appear to move and dance, and that no evidence of anything inappropriate was found. The township police said they had investigated the possible use of AI to generate non-consensual sexualized imagery of multiple juveniles and charged a juvenile with harassment. One mother said everyone stared at her daughter at school and that she felt no one believed her. The app is unnamed and the videos were not recovered.","incidentDate":"2025-12-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-12-09","aiSystem":"An unnamed app that animates still photos, which a student used on publicly available photos of classmates to make videos of them moving and dancing; the police describe the case as the possible use of AI to generate sexualized imagery","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool (suspected)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to parents, five freshman girls were told a classmate had made sexual videos of them from their photos; one mother says everyone stared at her daughter at school and she felt no one believed her. The police describe possible AI-generated sexualized imagery of multiple juveniles; the district says no inappropriate content was found.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":5,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Five: parents of two victims told the Inquirer that five freshman girls were told they were depicted, and the police describe imagery of multiple juveniles. The count rests on the parents' account; the district disputes that inappropriate content existed.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-PA","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.inquirer.com/education/radnor-council-rock-school-district-ai-deepfakes-20260217.html","primarySourceLabel":"The Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 February 2026: Students are using AI to create deepfakes of classmates; parents say schools are not doing enough to stop it","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-18T03:12:31.735982+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-18T03:12:31.735982+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["school","deepfake_video","image_animation_app","minors","harassment_charge"]},{"id":"2025-pennsylvania-man-sentenced-after-court-documents-say-he-made-ai-deepfake-nude-images-of-teenage-neighbor","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'was sentenced to state prison Wednesday'; 'pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography in connection with nearly 700 pictures and videos'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'At an Oct. 14 court appearance, Bucks County Common Pleas Judge'; 'had pleaded guilty earlier this year to three felony child-porn related charges and two misdemeanor theft-related charges'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A Bucks County, Pennsylvania, judge sentenced the man to state prison on 14 October 2026 after guilty pleas to child sexual abuse material and theft charges.","causal_attribution":"Court outcome reported by two reporters from separate newsrooms."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A forensic download of his electronic devices found AI-generated deepfake nude images of a “known” teenage girl.'; 'The girl's face was placed on the bodies of naked females'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Court documents say a forensic download of his electronic devices found AI-generated deepfake nude images of a teenage girl he knew, made by placing her face on the bodies of other people.","causal_attribution":"Court documents as reported. The AI tool's output is the sexual depiction of the girl."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'used artificial intelligence to create graphic, deepfake pornographic images of his underage neighbor'; 'detectives found the deepfake images he made of his teenage neighbor'; 'a teenage girl he had known for years'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Prosecutors said that detectives investigating his phone found deepfake images he had made of his teenage neighbor, a girl he had known for years, using artificial intelligence.","causal_attribution":"The prosecution's account at sentencing, as reported by the Inquirer."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'was recorded on a nanny cam going into the girl’s home while she and her parents were on vacation, and stealing a pair of her underwear'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'was arrested on felony charges in June 2025, a neighbor reported'; 'captured on their home security system entering their house'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The day after his June 2025 arrest he entered the girl's home and stole her underwear, which a home camera recorded.","causal_attribution":"Court documents and affidavit account as reported. The two outlets rely on the same court record, so the claim stays reported."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'dismantled in ways we can’t describe'; 'is struggling in school, on antidepressants, and undergoing therapy as she struggles to deal with the trauma'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The girl's father told the court that the family's lives had been dismantled, and the Inquirer reports that the girl is struggling in school, taking antidepressants and undergoing therapy for the trauma.","causal_attribution":"The father's statement in court and the Inquirer's account of the girl's condition, as reported. They concern the whole of the man's conduct toward the girl."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'seven- to 10-year sentence'; 'is a sexually violent predator, a legal distinction that requires him to register for the rest of his life with the Pennsylvania State Police'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'to seven to 12 years in state prison, and one year of probation under a negotiated plea deal'; 'to have no contact with the victim and follow sex offender supervision restrictions'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'to seven to 20 years in state prison, and one year of probation under a negotiated plea deal'; 'This story was republished to update length of sentencing and add new information'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The judge ruled him a sexually violent predator requiring lifetime registration and ordered no contact with the victim; the reported term is seven to 10 years (Inquirer), or seven to 20 years plus a year of probation in the Courier Times report as updated (seven to 12 years in its first, syndicated version).","causal_attribution":"Sentence terms as reported; the outlets differ on the maximum term, and the Courier Times updated its own figure."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'played a role in his creation of the deepfake images of his neighbor'; 'disputed that theory of the case'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"His lawyer said Adderall abuse lowered his inhibitions and played a role in his creation of the deepfake images; the prosecutor disputed that account.","causal_attribution":"The parties' competing accounts at sentencing."}],"effects":[{"label":"teenage neighbor depicted in AI-generated deepfake nude images","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"girl reported to be struggling at school, taking antidepressants and in therapy","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.inquirer.com/crime/stephen-oneill-warminster-child-porn-ai-deepfake-20261014.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-15 (HTTP 200, full text). The reporter covered the 14 October sentencing hearing and cites the affidavit of probable cause.","independence_group":"inquirer-court-report"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://cumberlink.com/news/state-regional/pennsylvania/article_71f7d961-c182-51d2-a5ef-5f552b61411a.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-15 (HTTP 200). The page obfuscates the article body with ROT47; the research agent (an AI) decoded it to the plain English text. This is the USA Today Network syndication of the Bucks County Courier Times report, with a separate reporter and the court documents as its source. The Courier Times original (phillyburbs.com) returned HTTP 402.","independence_group":"bucks-county-courier-times-court-report"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/news/crime/2026/10/14/warminster-deepfake-ai-child-pornography-police-sentence-guilty-bucks-county-underwear/91707434007/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-15 through the eu.phillyburbs.com host (HTTP 200, full text; the www host returned HTTP 402). This is the Bucks County Courier Times original of the report syndicated as s2, in the version republished at 02:35 UTC on 15 October to update the sentence length; same independence group as s2.","independence_group":"bucks-county-courier-times-court-report"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","relationships","justice"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool was used and how investigators established that the images were AI-generated","When the images were made (they were on devices examined in the investigation that began in June 2025, the month of his arrest; incident_date records that month)","How many images there were and whether they were shared","The exact maximum term: the Inquirer gives 10 years, and the Courier Times gave 12 years before updating its report to 20 years"],"geography":{"basis":"Court: Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania, United States. The reports do not say where the images were made, and the girl's location rests only on residence, so the event and affected-person countries are left unknown.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a reported case from two separate newsroom reports of the same court record. Court documents and prosecutors say the man used an AI tool to make deepfake nude images of a teenage neighbor, and a judge sentenced him to state prison after guilty pleas. The images themselves are the abuse of the girl depicted, and her father described her distress in court. Neither the man nor the girl is named here.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-15"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Bucks County Courier Times reports that, according to court documents, a forensic download of the man's devices found AI-generated deepfake nude images of a teenage girl he knew, made by placing her face on the bodies of other people. The Inquirer reports prosecutors saying that detectives found deepfake images he had made of his teenage neighbor using artificial intelligence. The tool's output is the sexual depiction of the girl (depicted_or_impersonated). Her father described the family's distress in court, in relation to the man's conduct as a whole. Neither report names the tool or states the technical basis for the AI finding.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Pennsylvania man sentenced to prison in a case where prosecutors and court documents say he made AI deepfake nude images of a teenage neighbor","summary":"A Bucks County, Pennsylvania, judge sentenced a man to state prison on 14 October 2026 after he pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse material and theft charges. According to court documents and prosecutors, detectives who began investigating him in June 2025 found AI-generated deepfake nude images of a teenage girl he knew, a neighbor, on his devices; her face had been placed on other bodies. The day after the arrest he was recorded entering her family's home and stealing her underwear. Her father described the family's distress in court, and the Inquirer reports that she is struggling at school, taking antidepressants and in therapy. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports a sentence of seven to 10 years. The Bucks County Courier Times gave seven to 12 years in its first report and seven to 20 years after republishing it to update the sentence length. Neither report names the AI tool.","incidentDate":"2025-06-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-14","aiSystem":"An unidentified AI tool used, according to court documents and prosecutors, to make deepfake nude images of a teenage girl by placing her face on other bodies","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to court documents and prosecutors, a man made AI deepfake nude images of a teenage neighbor. Her father described the family's distress in court, and she is reported to be struggling at school, taking antidepressants and in therapy.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"One teenage girl is depicted in the AI-generated images (claims c2 and c3), so one person is counted. Her father described harm to the whole family, which is not counted separately because his statement covers all of the man's conduct, including the theft. Children in the man's non-AI abuse material are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://cumberlink.com/news/state-regional/pennsylvania/article_71f7d961-c182-51d2-a5ef-5f552b61411a.html","primarySourceLabel":"Bucks County Courier Times via The Sentinel (USA Today Network), 14 October 2026: Bucks County man sentenced in child sexual abuse material and theft case","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-15T02:59:39.067803+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-15T03:10:27.808032+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-generated-nude-images","deepfake","minors","criminal-sentence","pennsylvania","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-evans-santos-v-draftkings-ai-personalization-gambling-addiction","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"\"EVANS VS DRAFTKINGS INC. ETAL\"; \"Filing Date: Friday , July 24th, 2026\"; \"Case ID: 260702927\"; \"Case 2:26-cv-07168 Document 1-3 Filed 09/16/26\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"docketNumber \"2:26-cv-07168\", court \"paed\", dateFiled \"2026-09-16\", \"NOTICE OF REMOVAL by CROWN PA GAMING, INC., DRAFTKINGS INC.\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Christopher Evans filed a product-liability complaint against DraftKings Inc. and Crown PA Gaming in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on 24 July 2026 (Case ID 260702927); the defendants removed it to the E.D. Pa. on 16 September 2026 as 2:26-cv-07168.","causal_attribution":"Established by the court record (state docket report and federal removal filing)."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"\"IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CHESTER COUNTY\"; \"29 Jul 2026 03:54 PM\"; \"MICHAEL SANTOS,\"; \"2026-07200-TT\"; \"Case 2:26-cv-07176 Document 1-3 Filed 09/16/26\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"docketNumber \"2:26-cv-07176\", court \"paed\", dateFiled \"2026-09-16\", \"NOTICE OF REMOVAL by FANDUEL INC., FLUTTER ENTERTAINMENT, PLC, BETFAIR INTERACTIVE US LLC, FANDUEL GROUP PARENT LLC, FANDUEL PA LLC\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Michael Santos filed a complaint against DraftKings, Crown PA Gaming, FanDuel Inc. and FanDuel's affiliates in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas on 29 July 2026 (2026-07200-TT); the FanDuel defendants removed it to the E.D. Pa. on 16 September 2026 as 2:26-cv-07176.","causal_attribution":"Established by the court record."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"\"He began using the DraftKings applications in or around August 2017\"; \"Plaintiff has wagered over $2,100,000.00 with net losses of approximately $81,000.00\"; \"constantly received targeted promotions, personalized push notifications, and incentives like prop bets and free credits intended to repetitively lure him back into the gambling applications\"; \"also had a VIP account manager, who would send him promotional offers, bonuses, and perks\"; \"He soon began suffering from depression and anxiety and stopped going outside altogether in favor of gambling all day\"; \"creating financial strain that has placed him into debt and resulted in the repossession of his vehicle\"; \"resulted in his wife separating from him\"; \"was formally diagnosed with depression in 2020\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Evans pleads that since about August 2017 he wagered over US$2,100,000 on DraftKings' apps with net losses of about US$81,000, constantly received targeted promotions and personalised push notifications and had a VIP account manager, developed depression and anxiety and was formally diagnosed with depression in 2020, stopped going outside, fell into debt, had his vehicle repossessed and separated from his wife.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiff's allegations in a pending complaint; untested."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"\"has wagered over $1,164,000.00 with net losses of approximately $58,000.00\"; \"has wagered nearly $7,000 on FanDuel with losses of nearly $1,500\"; \"constantly received targeted advertisements, personalized push notifications, and incentive-based emails from DraftKings intended to repetitively lure him back into the gambling app\"; \"despite Plaintiff expressly stating he did not want to continue gambling\"; \"max out multiple credit cards and accrue debt so significant that it forced him to sell his house\"; \"has received formal diagnoses of depression and anxiety\"; \"drove Plaintiff MICHAEL SANTOS to suicidal ideation\"; \"voluntarily placed himself on a self-exclusion list with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in 2023\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Santos pleads that he wagered over US$1,164,000 on DraftKings with net losses of about US$58,000 and nearly US$7,000 on FanDuel with losses of nearly US$1,500, received targeted advertisements, personalised push notifications and incentive emails, had a VIP manager who kept offering bonus bets after he said he wanted to stop, maxed out multiple credit cards and was forced to sell his house, received diagnoses of depression and anxiety, experienced suicidal ideation, and self-excluded with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in 2023.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiff's allegations in a pending complaint; untested."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"\"Defendants utilize the combination of advanced technology and artificial intelligence paired with the tracking of personalized user data to intentionally addict users and continuously lure them back to their sports gambling apps\"; \"data science and machine learning to help optimize conversion\"; \"recommendation engines\"; \"Defendants operate sophisticated AI-powered engagement platforms that, on information and belief, employ the precise personalization mechanisms the study identifies as risk-generating\"; \"Limit or eliminating artificial intelligence to track individual\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"\"Defendants utilize the combination of advanced technology and artificial intelligence paired with the tracking of personalized user data to intentionally addict users\"; \"Limiting or eliminating artificial intelligence to track individual\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Both complaints allege that the defendants combine artificial intelligence with tracking of personalised user data to addict users and lure them back, that DraftKings' 10-K discloses machine-learning recommendation engines, and, on information and belief, that the defendants operate AI-powered engagement platforms; both ask the court to limit or eliminate the use of artificial intelligence to track individual users.","causal_attribution":"The contents of the pleadings are established by the record; the truth of the AI allegations is not."}],"effects":[{"label":"two plaintiffs plead gambling addiction, six-figure wagering with net losses of about US$81,000 and US$58,000, debt, family breakdown, depression and suicidal ideation, attributed to AI-driven personalization","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.paed.662095/gov.uscourts.paed.662095.1.3.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-17 and 2026-09-19: Exhibit A to the notice of removal in Evans v. DraftKings Inc., E.D. Pa. 2:26-cv-07168 (47 pages: the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas docket report and the complaint of 24 July 2026), from the CourtListener RECAP archive.","independence_group":"evans-complaint"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.paed.662118/gov.uscourts.paed.662118.1.3.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19: Exhibit A to the notice of removal in Santos v. DraftKings Inc., E.D. Pa. 2:26-cv-07176 (53 pages: the complaint filed and attested in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas on 29 July 2026), from the CourtListener RECAP archive.","independence_group":"santos-complaint"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74801358/evans-v-draftkings-inc/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Docket metadata read on 2026-09-19 through the CourtListener v4 search API (saved as cl-evans.json): case name, docket number 2:26-cv-07168, court E.D. Pa., filed 2026-09-16, cause 28:1332 diversity product liability, removal notice by Crown PA Gaming and DraftKings.","independence_group":"courtlistener-evans-docket"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74803784/santos-v-draftkings-inc/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Docket metadata read on 2026-09-19 through the CourtListener v4 search API (saved as cl-santos3.json): docket number 2:26-cv-07176, court E.D. Pa., filed 2026-09-16, removal notice by FanDuel Inc., Flutter Entertainment, Betfair Interactive US, FanDuel Group Parent and FanDuel PA.","independence_group":"courtlistener-santos-docket"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use","institutional_use"],"contexts":["finance","health","relationships","justice"],"unknowns":["Whether AI or machine-learning systems, rather than human account managers and conventional marketing, generated the promotions and notifications the plaintiffs describe; the 'AI-powered engagement platforms' allegation is pleaded on information and belief.","The defendants' responses; no answer, motion or ruling is recorded as of 2026-09-19.","When Santos began gambling on the apps and his current financial position.","Whether the plaintiffs also gambled on other operators' products."],"geography":{"basis":"Both plaintiffs are Pennsylvania residents (Philadelphia; Coatesville, Chester County) per the complaints; suits filed in Pennsylvania state courts and removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a contextual case: two pending complaints, read in full from the court record, allege that an operator's AI-driven personalization and engagement systems fostered gambling addiction with quantified losses, debt, family breakdown, psychiatric diagnoses and suicidal ideation. Filing facts are documented; the harms and the AI involvement are the plaintiffs' allegations and are recorded as such. Plaintiffs are identified only by the public case captions.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-19"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The complaints allege that the defendants' AI and machine-learning personalization systems tracked the plaintiffs' play and targeted them with promotions and notifications, and quote DraftKings' 10-K on machine-learning recommendation engines; the 'AI-powered engagement platforms' allegation is pleaded on information and belief. Nothing in the record yet establishes that AI systems made the targeting decisions about these two users, so the relation (a system making decisions about the person) is recorded as alleged.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["made_decision_about"]},"name":"Pennsylvania: two men sued DraftKings (one also FanDuel) alleging that AI-driven personalization, targeted promotions and VIP handling fostered gambling addiction; they plead net losses of about US$81,000 and US$58,000, debt, family breakdown, depression and, in one case, suicidal ideation","summary":"Christopher Evans (Philadelphia; complaint filed 24 July 2026 in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas) and Michael Santos (Coatesville, Chester County; complaint filed 29 July 2026 in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas) sued DraftKings and its Pennsylvania affiliate; Santos also sued FanDuel and its parents. Both product-liability complaints, filed by the same law firm, allege that the defendants' sports-betting, daily-fantasy and casino apps are designed to addict, and that the companies 'utilize the combination of advanced technology and artificial intelligence paired with the tracking of personalized user data to intentionally addict users', operating 'AI-powered engagement platforms' (pleaded on information and belief) and, per DraftKings' 10-K as quoted, 'data science and machine learning' recommendation engines. Evans pleads that since about August 2017 he wagered over US$2.1 million with net losses of about US$81,000, received constant targeted promotions and personalised push notifications and a VIP account manager, developed depression and anxiety and was formally diagnosed with depression in 2020, stopped going outside, fell into debt, had his vehicle repossessed and separated from his wife. Santos pleads over US$1.164 million wagered on DraftKings with net losses of about US$58,000 plus small FanDuel losses, targeted advertising and a VIP manager who kept offering bonus bets after he said he wanted to stop, maxed-out credit cards, the forced sale of his house, diagnoses of depression and anxiety, suicidal ideation, and self-exclusion with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in 2023. Both cases were removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on 16 September 2026 (2:26-cv-07168 and 2:26-cv-07176). The allegations are untested.","incidentDate":"2017-08-01","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-07-24","aiSystem":"DraftKings' and FanDuel's sportsbook, daily-fantasy and online-casino apps and their alleged AI and machine-learning personalization, recommendation and engagement systems (as pleaded; the complaints quote DraftKings' 10-K on 'data science and machine learning' and 'recommendation engines')","aiProduct":"DraftKings and FanDuel apps","aiCompany":"DraftKings Inc. (and Crown PA Gaming); FanDuel Inc. and affiliates (Flutter Entertainment) in the Santos suit","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss","psychiatric_deterioration","relationship_disruption","property_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"As pleaded: gambling addiction with net losses of about US$81,000 (Evans) and about US$58,000 plus small FanDuel losses (Santos), debt, a repossessed vehicle and marital separation (Evans), maxed-out credit cards, a forced house sale, diagnosed depression and anxiety and suicidal ideation (Santos), attributed by the plaintiffs to the defendants' AI-driven personalization and engagement design.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":2,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Two named plaintiffs, each pleading his own gambling addiction and losses as a user of the apps. Exact count of two; family members mentioned in the complaints are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"lawsuit_ongoing","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.paed.662095/gov.uscourts.paed.662095.1.3.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Evans v. DraftKings Inc. et al., E.D. Pa. 2:26-cv-07168, Notice of Removal Exhibit A (Philadelphia CCP complaint filed 24 July 2026), via CourtListener RECAP","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-20T03:19:52.470392+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:36.906135+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["gambling","sports-betting","algorithmic-personalization","engagement-design","product-liability","lawsuit","united-states","pennsylvania","draftkings","fanduel","institutional-use"]},{"id":"2026-chesterton-v-openai","metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Re-checked on 2026-10-09 against the NJBIZ article and its CDO Times republication, both read in English from Internet Archive captures of 2026-09-25 because the live pages returned a Cloudflare challenge (HTTP 403) and HTTP 429. The bodies state that Platkin LLP filed the complaint March 5 in San Francisco County Superior Court, which places the court in the United States, on behalf of a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman, which is her reported residence and supports affected_person_countries US, and that according to the complaint her severe mental health crisis occurred during a July 2025 family vacation in Mexico, which places the acute event in Mexico. Where the ChatGPT use in 2023 to 2025 took place is not stated in either body (residence does not locate it), so event_countries records only the crisis. The complaint itself was not inspected. The retained narrative carries the same three facts.","evidence":[{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"Pennsylvania","location":"victim_description","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"during a family vacation in Mexico","location":"detailed_description","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["MX"]},{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"San Francisco County Superior Court","location":"outcome_details","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"Platkin LLP filed a complaint March 5 in San Francisco County Superior Court on behalf of a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman","location":"https://njbiz.com/platkin-openai-chatgpt-lawsuit-mental-health/","supports":["court_countries","affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"According to the complaint, Chesterton suffered a severe mental health crisis during a July 2025 family vacation in Mexico","location":"https://njbiz.com/platkin-openai-chatgpt-lawsuit-mental-health/","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["MX"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"According to the complaint, Chesterton suffered a severe mental health crisis during a July 2025 family vacation in Mexico","location":"https://cdotimes.com/2026/04/20/former-ag-platkin-sues-openai-over-chatgpt-mental-harms-njbiz/","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["MX"]}],"court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["MX"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"unresolved":["The complaint (San Francisco County Superior Court, filed March 5, 2026) was not inspected; the geography rests on NJBIZ's account of it. The case number is not given in either body.","Where the ChatGPT use from 2023 to July 2025 took place is not stated; Pennsylvania is the plaintiff's reported residence, and only the July 2025 crisis is located (Mexico).","The CDO Times page is a verbatim republication of NJBIZ and does not independently corroborate any claim; the row's two sources form one reporting chain."],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-09","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://njbiz.com/platkin-openai-chatgpt-lawsuit-mental-health/","notes":"Cited primary source. Live fetch on 2026-10-09 returned HTTP 403 with a Cloudflare challenge page ('Just a moment...'), so the body was read from the Internet Archive capture of 2026-09-25 (web/20260925104959id_), html lang en-US, English, about 28,800 characters of text including the full article and an interview with Matt Platkin. States the March 5 filing in San Francisco County Superior Court, the 49-year-old Pennsylvania plaintiff, the July 2025 crisis in Mexico 'according to the complaint', and the complaint's product-liability, failure-to-warn, Unfair Competition Law and unlicensed-psychotherapy theories. The complaint is quoted but not linked.","access":"read","language":"en-US"},{"url":"https://cdotimes.com/2026/04/20/former-ag-platkin-sues-openai-over-chatgpt-mental-harms-njbiz/","notes":"Live fetch on 2026-10-09 returned HTTP 429, so the body was read from the Internet Archive capture of 2026-09-25 (web/20260925105000id_), html lang en-US, English. The page republishes the NJBIZ article verbatim under the title 'Former AG Platkin sues OpenAI over ChatGPT mental harms - NJBIZ' and adds no reporting of its own; it is a derivative of the NJBIZ source and not independent.","access":"read","language":"en-US"}]},"name":"Chesterton lawsuit alleges ChatGPT contributed to psychiatric deterioration","summary":"The Chesterton lawsuit alleges that intensive ChatGPT use contributed to a psychiatric crisis, impairment and medical leave. The plaintiff challenges the product’s design and safeguards. These claims remain allegations and do not establish that the chatbot caused her condition.","incidentDate":"2025-07-15","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-03-05","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["psychological_manipulation","dependency_creation","delusion_reinforcement","identity_destabilization","crisis_response"],"harmOutcomes":["hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration","professional_harm","functional_impairment"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Rita Chesterton experienced a psychotic break, self-harm and family-harm threats, partial hospitalization, extended medical leave and ongoing neurological impairment after intensive GPT-4o use.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1b","P1c","P1d","P2c","P3a","P3b","P3d","P5a"],"pathwayDirection":"both","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint documents one named participant's self-harm, hospitalization, professional harm, and functional impairment. Threatened family harm is not counted because no injury is recorded.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-PA","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://njbiz.com/platkin-openai-chatgpt-lawsuit-mental-health/","primarySourceLabel":"NJBIZ — Platkin sues OpenAI over ChatGPT mental harms","firstPublishedAt":"2026-04-28T13:00:13.190311+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-09T03:13:04.910868+00:00","scopeVersion":"participant-v2","tags":["lawsuit","chatgpt","gpt-4o","openai","microsoft","sam-altman","psychosis","sycophancy","dependency","us","pennsylvania","platkin"]}]}