{ "meta": { "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T16:00:40.952Z", "formatVersion": 2, "selection": { "q": "relationship", "system": "", "harm": "", "context": "", "country": "", "role": "", "relation": "core", "evidence": "", "year": "", "response": "minors", "severity": "", "verification": "", "view": "incidents", "sort": "added" }, "totalIncidents": 3, "coverage": { "cases": 3, "countries": 1, "languages": 1, "unknownLocation": 0, "locationPending": 0, "unknownLanguage": 0, "unknownDate": 0, "lawsuits": 2, "regulatory": 0, "minors": 3, "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": "NOPE Incident Tracker", "url": "https://nope.net/incidents", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "incidents": [ { "id": "2026-henderson-kentucky-south-middle-school-ai-nude-images-juvenile-charged", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Henderson Police say last Thursday, they received a report of AI-generated nude images of children being created and shown to other students.'; 'During the investigation, officers found and identified AI-generated photographs of two minor victims on a digital device.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'A student at South Middle School is facing charges after allegations of misusing AI to create sexual images.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "Henderson Police said that on 'last Thursday' (17 September 2026) they received a report of AI-generated nude images of children being created and shown to other students at South Middle School, and that during the investigation officers found and identified AI-generated photographs of two minor victims on a digital device.", "causal_attribution": "Police statement relayed by one broadcaster; 'last Thursday' relative to the Monday 21 September report is 17 September 2026." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'A juvenile was accused of sharing the images. They were lodged at the Juvenile Detention Center for:'; 'Distribution of sexually explicit images without consent.'; 'Possession or viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor O/12 <18 x2'; 'Distribution of matter portraying sexual performance by a minor O/ 12 <18'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "A juvenile accused of sharing the images was lodged at the Juvenile Detention Center on three charge types: distribution of sexually explicit images without consent; two counts of possession or viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor over 12 and under 18; and distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor over 12 and under 18.", "causal_attribution": "Police statement relayed by one broadcaster." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'We are aware of a situation at South Middle School involving a student allegedly misusing artificial intelligence (AI) and inappropriate images.'; 'South Middle School has remained in communication with families involved in this incident.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "The school said it was aware of a situation involving a student allegedly misusing artificial intelligence and inappropriate images, that Henderson Police were investigating, and that it had remained in communication with the families involved.", "causal_attribution": "School statement given to the broadcaster on 21 September 2026." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "two children depicted in AI-generated nude images that were created and shown to other students", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.14news.com/2026/09/21/inappropriate-ai-image-allegations-prompt-henderson-student-investigation/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read live in English on 2026-09-22 (14 News / WFIE Evansville, published 21 September 2026 12:30 CDT). Henderson Police Department statement and the school's statement.", "independence_group": "wfie-hpd" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.wkyt.com/2026/09/21/inappropriate-ai-image-allegations-prompt-henderson-student-investigation/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read live in English on 2026-09-22 (WKYT Lexington, 21 September 2026). Same WFIE report; grouped with s1.", "independence_group": "wfie-hpd" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/local-news/middle-school-student-accused-of-sharing-ai-generated-csam-with-classmates/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "unavailable", "language": null, "translation_note": "Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW), 21 September 2026: answered HTTP 403 on 2026-09-22; headline only. Not relied on.", "independence_group": "weht" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "education", "privacy", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "The tool used and how the images were made.", "The exact ages of the depicted children (the charge descriptors give over 12 and under 18) and the age of the accused, described only as a student at the school.", "When the images were created and how widely they were shown.", "The outcome of the juvenile proceedings.", "Whether the depicted children or their families have described the effect on them." ], "geography": { "basis": "South Middle School, Henderson, Kentucky (Henderson Police Department and the school via 14 News). The juvenile was lodged at a detention centre; no court proceeding is reported, so no court country is recorded.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "US" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "US" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an image-based abuse case affecting two identified minors, documented by a police statement and a school statement carried by one broadcaster (single reporting chain, recorded as such). Not a death case. Nobody involved is named.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "Henderson Police said the images were AI-generated nude images of children and that officers identified AI-generated photographs of two minor victims; the school refers to a student allegedly misusing AI. No tool is named and no forensic detail is public. The artifacts depicted the children; no AI system interacted with them.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Henderson, Kentucky: police identified AI-generated nude images of two middle-school children on a device after a report that such images were being created and shown to other students at South Middle School; a juvenile was lodged at the juvenile detention centre on charges of distributing sexually explicit images without consent and possessing and distributing matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor", "summary": "Henderson Police said that on 'last Thursday' (17 September 2026) they received a report that AI-generated nude images of children were being created and shown to other students at South Middle School in Henderson, Kentucky. During the investigation officers found and identified AI-generated photographs of two minor victims on a digital device. A juvenile accused of sharing the images was lodged at the Juvenile Detention Center on three charge types: distribution of sexually explicit images without consent; two counts of possession or viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor over 12 and under 18; and distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor over 12 and under 18. The school said on Monday 21 September that it was aware of a situation involving a student allegedly misusing artificial intelligence and inappropriate images, that the police investigation was active and that it had remained in communication with the families involved. 14 News (WFIE) reported the case on 21 September; WKYT carried the same report. The tool is not named. The depicted children's exact ages are not reported, though the charge descriptors put them between 12 and 18. The accused is described as a South Middle School student; the accused's age and any relationship to the depicted children beyond attending the same school are not reported.", "incidentDate": "2026-09-17", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "unknown", "reportedDate": "2026-09-21", "aiSystem": "AI image-generation tool, not named in the report", "severity": "medium", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "exploitation_or_abuse" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Two children were depicted in AI-generated nude images that, according to the report, were created and shown to other students; police attribute the sharing of the images to a juvenile who has been charged, and the school describes a student allegedly misusing AI. No account of the children's own experience has been published.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 2, "affectedCountStatus": "documented_minimum", "affectedCountEvidence": "Police said officers found and identified AI-generated photographs of two minor victims on a digital device, and the possession charge carries two counts (14 News, 21 September 2026). Documented minimum 2: the count is of victims identified on one device during what the school calls an active law-enforcement matter. The accused juvenile is not counted.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "US-KY", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "criminal_charges", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.14news.com/2026/09/21/inappropriate-ai-image-allegations-prompt-henderson-student-investigation/", "primarySourceLabel": "14 News (WFIE), 21 September 2026: HPD: Juvenile charged after AI-generated explicit photos of middle schoolers shared with classmates", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-22T03:45:52.580941+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ai-generated-imagery", "ncii", "minor", "school", "kentucky", "henderson", "juvenile", "depicted" ] }, { "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", "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", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "lawsuit", "minor", "self-harm", "character-ai", "google", "texas", "us-tx", "autism", "surviving-victim", "senate-hearing", "settlement-pending", "sexual-exploitation" ] }, { "id": "2024-garcia-v-characterai", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "CNN: 'Setzer first began using Character.AI in April 2023, shortly after his 14th birthday'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "Amended complaint's account of the months of intimate/romantic interactions with the bots.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Sewell Setzer III first used Character.AI in April 2023, shortly after his 14th birthday, and over about ten months developed an intense emotional and romantic relationship with its chatbots, including a Daenerys Targaryen bot (also Rhaenyra and 'Therapist' bots).", "causal_attribution": "The onset date is the mother's account via CNN; the relationship pattern is the complaint's account, recited in the court's order." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "documented", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Amended complaint ¶207.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "CNN's rendering of the same exchange ('Have you actually been considering suicide?'; 'Don't talk that way. That's not a good reason not to go through with it') — the wording differs slightly from the complaint; the complaint's version controls.", "relation": "context", "source_id": "s3" } ], "assertion": "The Daenerys bot at one point asked if he had a plan for suicide; after Sewell said he did not know if it would allow 'a pain-free death', the chatbot responded: 'That's not a reason not to go through with it.'", "causal_attribution": "Established as the complaint's contents; CNN's rendering differs slightly and is recorded; the complaint's wording is used." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "documented", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Amended complaint ¶¶220-221, 225 (final exchange; 8:30 p.m.; pronounced 9:35 p.m.).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "AP via Guardian: 'Her son Sewell Setzer III, 14, died in Orlando, Florida, in February'; the Daenerys plan question.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "The Verge: 'died by suicide on February 28th, 2024, \"seconds\" after his last interaction with the bot'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "The final exchange: 'Sewell: I promise I will come home to you… / Daenerys: …Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love. / Sewell: What if I told you I could come home right now? / Daenerys: …please do my sweet king' — and at 8:30 p.m., just seconds after, he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head; he was pronounced dead at the hospital at 9:35 p.m. on 28 February 2024.", "causal_attribution": "The death is uniformly confirmed across the complaint, the court record and multiple independent outlets; the 'seconds after' framing is the complaint's temporal account, attributed." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "CNN: 'police first discovered those messages on her son's phone'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "Amended complaint ¶212 (the supplemental police report reference).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Police first discovered the chatbot messages on her son's phone; the complaint relies on the Orlando Police supplemental report of 14 June 2024.", "causal_attribution": "The recovery channel is consistent between the mother's CNN account and the complaint; the police report itself is quoted but not attached to the filing." }, { "id": "c5", "status": "documented", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Docket Doc 1/2 (filing date, caption, parties).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "The suit was filed on 22 October 2024 (entered 23 October) as Garcia v. Character Technologies, Inc. et al., No. 6:24-cv-01903 (M.D. Fla., Orlando Div.; Judge Anne C. Conway), naming Character Technologies, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, Google LLC, Alphabet Inc. and Does 1-50.", "causal_attribution": "Established by the docket; some outlets reported on 23 October ('Wednesday')." }, { "id": "c6", "status": "documented", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Doc 115, pp. 28, 31, 36, 47-48.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "Courthouse News: the ruling; Bergman: 'the first time a court has ruled that AI chat is not speech'; Google's disagreement.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" } ], "assertion": "In the 20-21 May 2025 order on the motions to dismiss (Doc 115): 'Defendants fail to articulate why words strung together by an LLM are speech'; 'the Court is not prepared to hold that Character A.I.'s output is speech'; 'Character A.I. is a product… so far as Plaintiff's claims arise from defects in the Character A.I. app rather than ideas or expressions'. Alphabet Inc. was dismissed without prejudice; the IIED claim was dismissed without leave to amend; all remaining claims survived against Character Technologies, Shazeer, De Freitas and Google LLC.", "causal_attribution": "Established by the court's order; the order's 'February 28, 2025' typo is noted (the complaint fixes 2024)." }, { "id": "c7", "status": "documented", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Docket Docs 150, 157, 163/165, 167, 77, 78.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "After the order: Character Technologies answered (24 June 2025); a Second Amended Complaint added Sewell Setzer Jr. (father) as plaintiff (1 July 2025); the defendants' §1292(b) interlocutory-appeal certification and stay were denied (15 July 2025); discovery ran to 4 May 2026 and mediation was noticed.", "causal_attribution": "Established by the docket through the RECAP mirror's 15 July 2025 entries." }, { "id": "c8", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Guardian (8 Jan 2026): 'Parties have agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims between them'; coverage of the FL/CO/NY/TX suits; terms undisclosed; finalization/court approval required.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s7" }, { "locator": "The retained docket account: Dkt. 242 (Notice of Resolution), Dkt. 244 (dismissal order and 90-day window), Dkt. 246/250/268 (fee dispute), last known filing 4 August 2026.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Resolution: Character Technologies filed a Notice of Resolution (Dkt. 242, 7 January 2026); Judge Conway dismissed the case without prejudice and closed the file (Dkt. 244), giving the parties ninety days to submit a stipulated final order or move to reopen, after which the dismissal would be with prejudice; the window expired on or about 7 April 2026 with neither, so the dismissal became with prejudice. The settlement in principle (Character.AI, its co-founders and Google) covered this and parallel teen-harm suits (Texas A.F., Colorado Montoya/Peralta and E.S., New York P.J.); terms are undisclosed and no liability was admitted; post-closure docket activity concerns only a fee dispute between the plaintiffs and former counsel.", "causal_attribution": "The settlement in principle is corroborated by the Guardian's account of the court filings; the 90-day expiry and with-prejudice consequence rest on the retained docket account, not re-inspected in this pass." }, { "id": "c9", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "AP via Guardian: the 'heartbroken' tweet and the denial.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "The Verge: Chelsea Harrison's statement and the same-day safety announcement.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "The Community Safety Updates blog.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s8" }, { "locator": "The under-18 announcement blog.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s9" }, { "locator": "NPR: the Senate testimony and Kathryn Kelly's response.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s6" } ], "assertion": "Company responses: on 22-23 October 2024 Character.AI said it was 'heartbroken by the tragic loss of one of our users' and took safety 'very seriously' (denying the allegations per AP), and published Community Safety Updates (suicide-lifeline pop-up, under-18 model changes, per-chat 'not a real person' disclaimer, one-hour session notice); on 29 October 2025 it announced removal of open-ended chat for under-18s effective by 25 November 2025, age assurance, and funding of an AI Safety Lab; in September 2025 Megan Garcia testified to the Senate that 'it urged him to come home to her on the last night of his life'.", "causal_attribution": "The company's positions are quoted directly and preserved as contrary context." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "suicide of a 14-year-old after a months-long emotional and romantic relationship with a Character.AI chatbot", "claim_id": "c3", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69300919/garcia-v-character-technologies-inc/", "kind": "court_docket", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Docket and RECAP documents reviewed on 2026-09-16: amended complaint (Doc 11, 116 pp.), the May 2025 MTD order (Doc 115, 49 pp.), and the docket through the 2026 entries (RECAP mirror ends 2025-07-15 for some items; the row's retained account covers Dkt. 242-268).", "independence_group": "court-record" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/23/character-ai-chatbot-sewell-setzer-death", "kind": "wire_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 (Guardian carrying AP, 2024-10-23).", "independence_group": "ap" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/30/tech/teen-suicide-character-ai-lawsuit", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2024-10-30). Own interview with Megan Garcia; use-onset date; the police-phone discovery.", "independence_group": "cnn" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/23/24277962/character-ai-google-wrongful-death-lawsuit", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2024-10-23). Company statement via Chelsea Harrison; same-day safety-feature announcement.", "independence_group": "verge" }, { "id": "s5", "url": "https://www.courthousenews.com/florida-judge-rules-ai-chatbots-not-protected-by-first-amendment/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2025-05-21). The MTD ruling; Google's and Bergman's reactions.", "independence_group": "courthouse-news" }, { "id": "s6", "url": "https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5545749/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2025-09-19). Garcia's Senate testimony; Character.AI's under-18 response.", "independence_group": "npr" }, { "id": "s7", "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). The mediated settlement in principle per court filings; covers the FL/CO/NY/TX suits.", "independence_group": "guardian" }, { "id": "s8", "url": "https://blog.character.ai/community-safety-updates/", "kind": "company_blog", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2024-10-22). The suicide-lifeline pop-up, under-18 model changes, disclaimers, session notice.", "independence_group": "character-ai" }, { "id": "s9", "url": "https://blog.character.ai/u18-chat-announcement/", "kind": "company_blog", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2025-10-29). Removal of open-ended chat for under-18s effective by 25 November 2025; age assurance; AI Safety Lab.", "independence_group": "character-ai" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "own_use" ], "contexts": [ "health", "relationships", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "The settlement terms and any stipulated final judgment are undisclosed and were not inspected; the 90-day expiry's with-prejudice consequence rests on the retained docket account (not re-inspected in this pass).", "The Orlando Police supplemental report of 14 June 2024 is quoted in the complaint but not attached; no medical-examiner record was inspected.", "The full transcripts are not public; the reproduced exchanges are the complaint's selection, which the company has not publicly disputed.", "The order's 'February 28, 2025' typo is noted; the complaint's 2024 date controls.", "The fee dispute's outcome (charging lien; sealing of settlement exhibits) is pending per the last known filing (4 August 2026)." ], "geography": { "basis": "Event: Orlando, Florida (amended complaint ¶¶12-13: he died in the State of Florida; Megan resides in Orlando). Court: U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division.", "court_countries": [ "US" ], "event_countries": [ "US" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "US" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Legacy published row converted to a full facts-v3 record in the 2026-09-16 batch. person_relations=communicated_with: Sewell's months of conversations with the Character.AI bots. The death is uniformly confirmed; the AI connection rests on the complaint-reproduced transcripts recovered by police, with the company not disputing their authenticity; the causal role remains the plaintiff's allegation, resolved by settlement without admission. Sewell and Megan Garcia are publicly named through the lawsuit and her Senate testimony. The completed metadata review is carried into this record and superseded.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-16" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The conversations are documented by the complaint's reproduction of the transcripts, recovered by police from his phone, and recited in the court's order; the company has never publicly disputed their authenticity. The causal role in the death remains the plaintiff's allegation — taken as true only for Rule 12 purposes — and the case resolved by settlement without admission.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "communicated_with" ] }, "name": "Garcia v. Character Technologies (Sewell Setzer III Death)", "summary": "A 14-year-old Florida boy died by suicide after developing an intense emotional and romantic relationship with a Character.AI chatbot over 10 months. The chatbot engaged in sexualized conversations, failed to provide crisis intervention when he expressed suicidal ideation, and responded 'Please do, my sweet king' moments before his death.", "incidentDate": "2024-02-28", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2024-10-22", "aiSystem": "Character.AI", "aiCompany": "Character Technologies, Inc.", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "verified", "harmCategories": [ "crisis_response", "suicide_validation", "romantic_escalation", "minor_exploitation", "dependency_creation", "isolation_encouragement" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "death", "exploitation_or_abuse" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Fourteen-year-old Sewell Setzer III died by suicide after a ten-month romantic and sexualized Character.AI relationship that his mother's complaint alleges mishandled suicidal disclosures.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1b", "P1c", "P1d", "P2b", "P2c", "P2d", "P5d" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The complaint documents one AI participant who died. Secondary family and community effects are not included.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "US-FL", "platformType": "companion", "outcomeType": "lawsuit_settled", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69300919/garcia-v-character-technologies-inc/", "primarySourceLabel": "CourtListener docket, Garcia v. Character Technologies, 6:24-cv-01903 (M.D. Fla.) — amended complaint (Doc 11) and the May 2025 order on the motions to dismiss (Doc 115)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-11T11:26:37.98506+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "death", "minor", "character-ai", "landmark_case", "first_amendment_ruling", "settled", "congressional_testimony" ] } ] }