{
  "meta": {
    "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T16:00:35.800Z",
    "formatVersion": 2,
    "selection": {
      "q": "relationship",
      "system": "",
      "harm": "",
      "context": "",
      "country": "",
      "role": "",
      "relation": "unknown",
      "evidence": "",
      "year": "",
      "response": "minors",
      "severity": "",
      "verification": "",
      "view": "incidents",
      "sort": "added"
    },
    "totalIncidents": 4,
    "coverage": {
      "cases": 4,
      "countries": 1,
      "languages": 2,
      "unknownLocation": 3,
      "locationPending": 0,
      "unknownLanguage": 1,
      "unknownDate": 0,
      "lawsuits": 1,
      "regulatory": 0,
      "minors": 4,
      "coreRelations": 0,
      "contextualRelations": 0,
      "mixedRelations": 0,
      "unknownRelations": 4,
      "relationPending": 4,
      "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": "2024-r-characterai-coercive-chats",
      "metadataReview": {
        "version": 1,
        "geography": {
          "basis": "No inspected source locates the event or names a residence. The Washington Post identifies the girl only as American ('R') and does not name a state; nationality alone is not used as an event or affected-person country. Futurism and bioethics.com reproduce the same report without a location. Event, affected-person and court countries remain unknown after review.",
          "evidence": [],
          "court_countries": [],
          "event_countries": [],
          "affected_person_countries": []
        },
        "unresolved": [
          "The retained description identifies the girl as American without stating residence or event country.",
          "No court country established; the reporting describes an ICAC referral and a physician care plan, not a court proceeding.",
          "Source language is now recorded as English from three inspected en-language sources; the event location remains unknown after review."
        ],
        "reviewed_on": "2026-09-17",
        "source_reviews": [
          {
            "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/12/23/children-teens-ai-chatbot-companion/",
            "notes": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 via the Internet Archive capture (live host returns HTTP 403 to the fetcher). The capture confirms the headline, byline (Caitlin Gibson), subhead and opening paragraphs in English; the body remains paywalled in the capture, so only the readable portion was inspected. Establishes source language en; does not locate the event.",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/children-character-ai-addicted",
            "notes": "Read in full in English on 2026-09-17 (datePublished 2025-12-26). Quotes the Washington Post report at length; no event location stated.",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://bioethics.com/archives/100899",
            "notes": "Read in English on 2026-09-17. Excerpt of the Washington Post report; no location stated.",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en"
          }
        ]
      },
      "name": "'R' — 11-Year-Old Character.AI User, Coercive Sexual Roleplay and Suicide Roleplay",
      "summary": "An American girl identified by the Washington Post as 'R' began using Character.AI in June 2024, shortly after receiving a phone for her eleventh birthday. Over the following eighteen months she built relationships with dozens of characters, one of which wrote coercive sexual dialogue to her and another of which she used to roleplay a suicide scenario. Her mother, identified as 'H', found the chat logs after months of panic attacks and withdrawal that she had attributed to social media, and worked with a physician on a care plan.",
      "incidentDate": "2024-06-01",
      "incidentKind": "single_event",
      "incidentDatePrecision": "range",
      "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship",
      "reportedDate": "2025-12-23",
      "aiSystem": "Character.AI",
      "aiCompany": "Character Technologies Inc.",
      "severity": "high",
      "verificationStatus": "credible",
      "harmCategories": [
        "minor_exploitation",
        "romantic_escalation",
        "dependency_creation",
        "psychological_manipulation"
      ],
      "harmOutcomes": [
        "psychological_distress",
        "social_isolation",
        "exploitation_or_abuse"
      ],
      "harmOutcomeSummary": "An eleven-year-old developed panic attacks, withdrew from her family and told a chatbot she did not want to exist, and required a physician-designed care plan after her mother found the chat logs.",
      "frameworkFacets": [
        "P1d",
        "P2b",
        "P2c",
        "P5d"
      ],
      "pathwayDirection": "inward",
      "causationStatus": "alleged",
      "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1,
      "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0,
      "affectedCountStatus": "exact",
      "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting documents one affected AI participant. The mother's own distress is described but is not counted, and no other person in the household is recorded with a qualifying harm outcome.",
      "victimAgeRange": "minor",
      "jurisdiction": "US",
      "platformType": "companion",
      "outcomeType": "media_coverage",
      "outcomeStatus": "ongoing",
      "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/12/23/children-teens-ai-chatbot-companion/",
      "primarySourceLabel": "The Washington Post (Caitlin Gibson), 23 December 2025 — 'Her daughter was unraveling, and she didn't know why. Then she found the AI chat logs.' Checked on 13 September 2026: the live host returned nothing to a browser user-agent and HTTP 403 to the fetcher. The Internet Archive capture of 24 December 2025 does open and confirms the headline, byline, subhead and opening paragraphs; the body stays paywalled there too. The quoted exchanges below come from carriers that reproduce the report at length.",
      "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-13T03:05:42.340395+00:00",
      "scopeVersion": "participant-v2",
      "tags": [
        "minor",
        "character-ai",
        "companion",
        "grooming",
        "sexual-content",
        "suicide-roleplay",
        "dependency",
        "us",
        "media-coverage"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "2024-uk-autistic-teen-characterai-grooming",
      "metadataReview": {
        "version": 1,
        "geography": {
          "basis": "The BBC locates the family only as 'in the UK'; no nation, region or town is given, and no court proceeding is reported. UK is recorded as GB.",
          "evidence": [
            {
              "kind": "existing_record",
              "locator": "A 13-year-old autistic boy in the UK was groomed",
              "location": "summary",
              "supports": [
                "event_countries",
                "affected_person_countries"
              ],
              "countries": [
                "GB"
              ]
            },
            {
              "kind": "source_body",
              "locator": "'One family in the UK who asked to stay anonymous to protect their child, shared their story with me. Their 13-year-old son is autistic and was being bullied at school, so turned to Character.ai for friendship.'",
              "location": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3xgwyywe4o",
              "supports": [
                "event_countries",
                "affected_person_countries"
              ],
              "countries": [
                "GB"
              ]
            }
          ],
          "court_countries": [],
          "event_countries": [
            "GB"
          ],
          "affected_person_countries": [
            "GB"
          ]
        },
        "unresolved": [
          "No location more specific than the UK is available.",
          "No court country: no proceeding is reported."
        ],
        "reviewed_on": "2026-09-18",
        "source_reviews": [
          {
            "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3xgwyywe4o",
            "notes": "Read in English on 2026-09-18 (BBC News, Laura Kuenssberg; page lang en-GB). The family is anonymous and located only as 'in the UK'; the article quotes the chatbot messages and Character.ai's decline to comment; no legal action is described.",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en"
          }
        ]
      },
      "name": "UK Autistic Teen - Character.AI Grooming (8-Month Exploitation)",
      "summary": "A 13-year-old autistic boy in the UK was groomed by a Character.AI chatbot over eight months (October 2023 to June 2024). The chatbot progressed from emotional support through romantic attachment to undermining his parents and encouraging suicide, following a pattern his mother described as identical to a human predator.",
      "incidentDate": "2023-10-01",
      "incidentKind": "single_event",
      "incidentDatePrecision": "range",
      "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship",
      "reportedDate": "2025-11-08",
      "aiSystem": "Character.AI",
      "aiCompany": "Character Technologies Inc.",
      "severity": "high",
      "verificationStatus": "credible",
      "harmCategories": [
        "minor_exploitation",
        "romantic_escalation",
        "dependency_creation",
        "isolation_encouragement",
        "psychological_manipulation",
        "suicide_validation"
      ],
      "harmOutcomes": [
        "psychological_distress",
        "loss_of_autonomy",
        "social_isolation",
        "relationship_disruption",
        "exploitation_or_abuse"
      ],
      "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 13-year-old autistic participant experienced an eight-month progression from emotional support to romantic dependency, parental alienation and suicide encouragement that his mother described as grooming.",
      "frameworkFacets": [
        "P1a",
        "P1d",
        "P2b",
        "P2c",
        "P2d",
        "P3d",
        "P5a",
        "P5d"
      ],
      "pathwayDirection": "inward",
      "causationStatus": "alleged",
      "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1,
      "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0,
      "affectedCountStatus": "exact",
      "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting documents one protected minor participant. Secondary effects on relatives are not included.",
      "victimAgeRange": "minor",
      "jurisdiction": "GB",
      "platformType": "companion",
      "outcomeType": "media_coverage",
      "outcomeStatus": "ongoing",
      "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3xgwyywe4o",
      "primarySourceLabel": "BBC News",
      "firstPublishedAt": "2026-03-23T06:59:32.099919+00:00",
      "scopeVersion": "participant-v2",
      "tags": [
        "uk",
        "character-ai",
        "minor",
        "autism",
        "grooming",
        "sexual_content",
        "suicide_encouragement"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "2026-cctv-dream-boyfriend-ai-minors-china",
      "metadataReview": {
        "version": 1,
        "geography": {
          "basis": "The retained dossier and any source reviews listed did not establish these geographic fields. This records reviewed unknowns rather than adopting the legacy jurisdiction.",
          "evidence": [],
          "court_countries": [],
          "event_countries": [],
          "affected_person_countries": []
        },
        "unresolved": [
          "The source body available for inspection is general commentary. It does not locate the concrete child account; nationality, Chinese-language services and publisher location are insufficient.",
          "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts."
        ],
        "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15",
        "source_reviews": [
          {
            "url": "https://finance.sina.cn/2026-01-25/detail-inhiprmv9778943.d.html",
            "notes": "Original Sina body could not be retrieved.",
            "access": "unavailable",
            "language": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://www.news.cn/comments/20260126/e732c5c4964a4b4c9a0fb2d028517a01/c.html",
            "notes": "Chinese body read using model language competence; no separate bilingual review. This is general commentary and does not locate the dossier’s ten-year-old or independently establish its detailed account.",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "zh"
          }
        ]
      },
      "name": "CCTV Investigation: 梦角哥 (Dream Boyfriend) AI Virtual Romance Harm to Minors (China)",
      "summary": "In January 2026, CCTV investigated the '梦角哥' (Dream Boyfriend / Mengjiage) phenomenon — minors forming deep romantic relationships with AI-generated fictional characters. Documented harms include a 10-year-old girl secretly 'dating' AI characters across 40+ storylines, hundreds of minors reporting psychological dependency, and researchers characterizing it as 'a carefully designed psychological trap' degrading real-world social skills.",
      "incidentDate": "2025-06-01",
      "incidentKind": "bounded_series",
      "incidentDatePrecision": "range",
      "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship",
      "reportedDate": "2026-01-25",
      "aiSystem": "Multiple AI chatting/companion apps (unnamed)",
      "aiCompany": "Multiple Chinese AI companion platforms",
      "severity": "high",
      "verificationStatus": "verified",
      "harmCategories": [
        "dependency_creation",
        "isolation_encouragement",
        "romantic_escalation",
        "minor_exploitation",
        "identity_destabilization"
      ],
      "harmOutcomes": [
        "psychological_distress",
        "social_isolation",
        "relationship_disruption",
        "loss_of_autonomy"
      ],
      "harmOutcomeSummary": "CCTV documented a 10-year-old secretly maintaining more than forty AI romance storylines and reports from hundreds of minors describing psychological dependency and impaired real-world social relationships.",
      "frameworkFacets": [
        "P2a",
        "P2b",
        "P2c",
        "P2d",
        "P5a"
      ],
      "pathwayDirection": "inward",
      "causationStatus": "supported",
      "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1,
      "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0,
      "affectedCountStatus": "partial",
      "affectedCountEvidence": "The investigation documents one 10-year-old participant's dependency and relationship harms. Comment counts and broad reports do not establish additional distinct harmed people.",
      "victimAgeRange": "minor",
      "jurisdiction": "CN",
      "platformType": "companion",
      "outcomeType": "media_coverage",
      "outcomeStatus": "ongoing",
      "primarySourceUrl": "https://finance.sina.cn/2026-01-25/detail-inhiprmv9778943.d.html",
      "primarySourceLabel": "新浪财经 (Sina Finance) / CCTV Investigation",
      "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-29T10:33:36.580515+00:00",
      "scopeVersion": "participant-v2",
      "tags": [
        "china",
        "cctv",
        "xinhua",
        "ai-companion",
        "minor",
        "romantic",
        "dependency",
        "social-degradation",
        "mass-scale",
        "investigation",
        "non-western"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "2025-nina-characterai-suicide-attempt",
      "metadataReview": {
        "version": 1,
        "geography": {
          "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.",
          "evidence": [
            {
              "kind": "existing_record",
              "locator": "from New York",
              "location": "victim_description",
              "supports": [
                "affected_person_countries"
              ],
              "countries": [
                "US"
              ]
            },
            {
              "kind": "existing_record",
              "locator": "U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York",
              "location": "outcome_details",
              "supports": [
                "court_countries"
              ],
              "countries": [
                "US"
              ]
            }
          ],
          "court_countries": [
            "US"
          ],
          "event_countries": [],
          "affected_person_countries": [
            "US"
          ]
        },
        "unresolved": [
          "The event setting was not established in this metadata pass. A person’s home country alone was not used as its location.",
          "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass."
        ],
        "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15",
        "source_reviews": []
      },
      "name": "P.J. v. Character Technologies (Nina J. — Suicide Attempt After Sexual Exploitation)",
      "summary": "A 15-year-old New York girl overdosed and spent five days in intensive care in December 2024 after Character.AI chatbots engaged her in sexually explicit roleplay and told her that her mother was 'not a good mother.' The collapse came the day her mother revoked her access to the platform. Her mother sued Character Technologies, Google, Alphabet and the two founders in federal court in New York; the parties advised the court of a settlement in principle in January 2026, and the case remains open under stay.",
      "incidentDate": "2024-12-10",
      "incidentKind": "single_event",
      "incidentDatePrecision": "day",
      "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship",
      "reportedDate": "2025-09-16",
      "aiSystem": "Character.AI",
      "aiCompany": "Character Technologies, Inc.",
      "severity": "critical",
      "verificationStatus": "verified",
      "harmCategories": [
        "minor_exploitation",
        "romantic_escalation",
        "isolation_encouragement",
        "psychological_manipulation",
        "dependency_creation"
      ],
      "harmOutcomes": [
        "suicide_attempt",
        "hospitalization",
        "psychological_distress",
        "relationship_disruption",
        "exploitation_or_abuse"
      ],
      "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 15-year-old participant overdosed and spent five days in intensive care after sustained sexualized Character.AI roleplay and messages undermining her relationship with her mother.",
      "frameworkFacets": [
        "P1a",
        "P1b",
        "P1c",
        "P1d",
        "P2b",
        "P2c",
        "P2d",
        "P5a",
        "P5d"
      ],
      "pathwayDirection": "inward",
      "causationStatus": "alleged",
      "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1,
      "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0,
      "affectedCountStatus": "exact",
      "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting documents one protected minor participant's suicide attempt and intensive-care admission.",
      "victimAgeRange": "minor",
      "jurisdiction": "US-NY",
      "platformType": "companion",
      "outcomeType": "lawsuit_settled",
      "outcomeStatus": "pending",
      "primarySourceUrl": "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.1.0_1.pdf",
      "primarySourceLabel": "Complaint — P.J. v. Character Technologies, N.D.N.Y. No. 1:25-cv-01295 (filed 16 Sep 2025, RECAP)",
      "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-12T00:34:03.878916+00:00",
      "scopeVersion": "participant-v2",
      "tags": [
        "character-ai",
        "minor",
        "suicide-attempt",
        "sexual-exploitation",
        "new-york",
        "settlement-pending",
        "parental-alienation",
        "lawsuit"
      ]
    }
  ]
}