{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-04T07:57:38.209Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"settlement","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"","response":"minors","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":6,"coverage":{"cases":6,"countries":2,"languages":3,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":5,"regulatory":0,"minors":6,"coreRelations":3,"contextualRelations":1,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":2,"relationPending":2,"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":"2023-espanola-new-mexico-flock-alpr-misread-plate-sisters-handcuffed-lawsuits","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'pulled the sisters over July 23 on Calle Duran after they had passed through an intersection equipped with a Flock Safety camera, which incorrectly flagged their car’s license plate as belonging to a stolen vehicle, according to the lawsuits.'; 'officers pulled the vehicle over and handcuffed them before placing them in the back of police vehicles prior to discovering the error.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'when Flock notified police that her Kia was stolen.'; 'Body camera footage from the July 2023 stop shows officers stopping the sisters and ordering them to exit the car, before handcuffing them.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In July 2023 Española police stopped the sisters' car after a Flock camera alert identified it as stolen, and officers ordered both sisters out and handcuffed them, including the 12-year-old.","causal_attribution":"The lawsuits as reported, and Business Insider's separate review of the body-camera footage."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'The plate number ended in 2, which the camera incorrectly read as 7, according to the complaint.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'According to an incident report, the camera misread a \"2\" for a \"7.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The camera misread a 2 on the plate as a 7.","causal_attribution":"The sisters' complaint (as reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican) and the police incident report (as reported by Business Insider) agree on the misread."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'compensation for personal injuries including “anxiety, fear, worry and restriction of movement.”'; 'Instead, officers handcuffed the girl and put her in the back of a different police vehicle, according to the complaint.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The sisters' lawsuits sought damages including compensation for anxiety, fear, worry and restriction of movement; the older sister had asked an officer to call their mother to collect the 12-year-old, and officers instead handcuffed the girl.","causal_attribution":"The sisters' complaints as reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Two Rio Arriba County sisters have filed lawsuits against the city of Española'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The family filed a lawsuit and settled with the city in 2025.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The family filed lawsuits against the city of Española and settled with the city in 2025.","causal_attribution":"Filing reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican; settlement reported by Business Insider without terms."},{"id":"c5","status":"disputed","evidence":[{"locator":"'Officers said the number was obscured by a license plate cover, though it'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Officers said a license plate cover obscured the number; Business Insider says the number is visible in the body-camera footage it reviewed.","causal_attribution":"Officers' explanation as reported by Business Insider, contradicted by Business Insider's own review of the footage."}],"effects":[{"label":"both sisters, one aged 12, handcuffed and held in police vehicles after a misread license-plate-camera alert flagged their car as stolen","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"lawsuits claimed anxiety, fear, worry and restriction of movement","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/sisters-sue-espa-ola-over-traffic-stop-they-say-was-illegal/article_1c949c30-ae3e-11ee-ad85-f71a8c9ecb1e.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-04 from the Internet Archive 2026 capture (Santa Fe New Mexican, 8 January 2024); the live site returned HTTP 429. Reports the two complaints and the attorney's comments.","independence_group":"espanola-sisters-lawsuits"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.businessinsider.com/flock-safety-alpr-cameras-misreads-2026-3","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-10-04 (Business Insider, 9 March 2026); full text present in the served page. Draws on its own review of body-camera footage and the incident report.","independence_group":"business-insider-records-review"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["justice"],"unknowns":["Settlement terms and date in 2025.","The state district court case numbers; the complaints were not read.","How long the sisters were held before officers found the error."],"geography":{"basis":"The stop took place on Calle Duran in Española, New Mexico; the sisters are from Rio Arriba County, and the suits were filed in New Mexico state district court (Santa Fe New Mexican).","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an institutional-use case consistent with the held Flock misread rows: the sisters' lawsuits (Santa Fe New Mexican) and the police incident report and body-camera footage reviewed by Business Insider describe a Flock license-plate-camera misread that led officers to handcuff a 21-year-old and her 12-year-old sister. Neither sister is named here.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-04"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The sisters' lawsuits (Santa Fe New Mexican) say a Flock Safety camera incorrectly flagged the plate as belonging to a stolen vehicle, reading a 2 as a 7; Business Insider reports the incident report records the same misread and describes the cameras as Flock's AI cameras. The plate match against a stolen-vehicle record is the automated system's claim about the car; the decision to handcuff both sisters was the officers'.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about"]},"name":"Española, New Mexico: police stopped a 21-year-old woman and her 12-year-old sister in July 2023 and handcuffed both in the backs of police cars after a Flock license-plate camera misread a 2 on her plate as a 7 and flagged the car as stolen; the sisters sued the city and settled in 2025","summary":"On 23 July 2023 Española police officers pulled over a car driven by a 21-year-old woman with her 12-year-old sister as a passenger, after a Flock Safety camera at an intersection flagged the car's plate as belonging to a vehicle stolen in Rio Rancho. According to the sisters' lawsuits, reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican in January 2024, the camera had read a 2 on the plate as a 7, and officers handcuffed both sisters and placed them in the backs of separate police vehicles before discovering the error; the older sister had asked an officer to call their mother, who lived nearby, to collect the girl. The suits sought damages for anxiety, fear, worry and restriction of movement. Business Insider, which reviewed the body-camera footage and incident report, reported in March 2026 that officers said the number was obscured by a license plate cover although it is visible in the footage, and that the family settled with the city in 2025.","incidentDate":"2023-07-23","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2024-01-08","aiSystem":"Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader camera at an Española intersection (described by Business Insider as one of Flock's AI cameras) that misread the car's plate, matched it to a stolen-vehicle record and notified police","aiProduct":"Flock Safety license plate readers","aiCompany":"Flock Safety","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["loss_of_liberty","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Both sisters, one of them 12, were handcuffed and held in the backs of police vehicles after the misread alert; their lawsuits claimed anxiety, fear, worry and restriction of movement (Santa Fe New Mexican). The family settled with the city in 2025 (Business Insider).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Two people, the sisters, both handcuffed and placed in police vehicles (Santa Fe New Mexican; Business Insider). Exact 2.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-NM","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"lawsuit_settled","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/sisters-sue-espa-ola-over-traffic-stop-they-say-was-illegal/article_1c949c30-ae3e-11ee-ad85-f71a8c9ecb1e.html","primarySourceLabel":"Santa Fe New Mexican, 8 January 2024: Sisters sue Española over traffic stop they say was illegal","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-04T03:31:48.559655+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T03:31:48.559655+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["flock","alpr","license-plate-reader","misread","wrongful-stop","handcuffed","minor","new-mexico","espanola","justice","made-claim-about","settlement"]},{"id":"2026-hachioji-high-school-extortion-chatgpt-settlement-figure","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"「5人の逮捕容疑は共謀して1月27日午後11時20分～28日午前1時ごろ、八王子市…の広場で、…男子生徒（17）に暴行を加えて鼻の骨を折るなどのけがを負わせた上」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"「警視庁によりますと、高校生の少女や少年ら5人はことし1月、東京・八王子市で元交際相手の男子高校生に「妹の体に触ったでしょ」などと言って、暴行を加えケガをさせ、現金を脅し取ろうとした疑いがもたれています。」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"「過去に男子生徒と交際していた女が「ツーリングに行こう」などと呼び出し、「妹の脚を触ったでしょ」などと因縁をつけたのが発端とみられる。」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Police allege that late on 27 January 2026, after a suspect who had previously dated a 17-year-old high-school boy invited him out on a motorcycle ride and accused him of touching her younger sister, five high-school students assaulted him in a public square in Hachioji and broke his nose.","causal_attribution":"Police allegation relayed by the press; not attributed to the AI."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"「現場には当時約10人がおり、1人が対話型生成AI「ChatGPT」に「児童に対する性被害」などと入力したところ、示談金として最低15万円という金額が表示されたことから、脅し取ろうとしたとみられる。」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"「犯行時、少女の仲間の1人がチャットGPTに「児童に対する性被害」と相談すると、「示談金として最低15万円」と回答があり、現金を要求したとみられています。」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"「この“15万円”という金額は女子高校生の仲間が生成AIの『チャットGPT』に相談して決めたとのこと。“児童に対する性被害”について相談したところ、“示談金は最低15万円”と回答があったそうです。」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"During the incident a member of the group entered terms such as 'sexual harm to a child' into ChatGPT, which displayed a minimum settlement of 150,000 yen, and police believe this is why the group told the boy to produce 150,000 yen.","causal_attribution":"Police belief (とみられる) relayed by the press. The prompt and full reply are not published."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"「「15万円、親とか友達に借りてでも用意しろ」などと言って現金を脅し取ろうとしたとしている」; 「傷害と恐喝未遂の疑いで」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The group told the boy to produce 150,000 yen, borrowing from his parents or friends if necessary; the charge is attempted extortion and no payment is reported.","causal_attribution":"Police allegation relayed by the press."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"「警視庁少年事件課は傷害と恐喝未遂の疑いで、東京都八王子市の高校3年生の女（17）ら高校生の男女計5人を逮捕した」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"「すでに加害者となった5人は逮捕されていますが、女子生徒ら4人は容疑を認めている中、少年1人は一部否認している状況です」","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Five high-school students were arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department's juvenile crimes division; four admit the allegations and one partly denies them.","causal_attribution":"Police arrest announcement; the admission detail comes from a reporter quoted by Shukan Josei PRIME."}],"effects":[{"label":"the boy was told to produce 150,000 yen, an amount police believe was taken from a ChatGPT answer about minimum settlements obtained during the incident","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the boy was assaulted and his nose was broken (not attributed to the AI)","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/article/2606/10/1260610086/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ja","translation_note":"Sankei Shimbun article republished by ITmedia NEWS, full body read in Japanese by curl on 2026-09-29; quotations here are the reviewer's English translations. Relays the Metropolitan Police Department juvenile crimes division's account.","independence_group":"tokyo-mpd-announcement"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://news.ntv.co.jp/category/society/f4b412aed650460c9cd4e3720590a043","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ja","translation_note":"NTV (Nippon TV) news LOG text summary of a 13 June 2026 broadcast, read in Japanese by curl on 2026-09-29; the video was not viewed. Attributes the facts to the Metropolitan Police Department.","independence_group":"tokyo-mpd-announcement"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.jprime.jp/articles/-/42114?display=b","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ja","translation_note":"Shukan Josei PRIME, 11 June 2026, read in Japanese by curl on 2026-09-29. Relies on an unnamed national-newspaper crime reporter whose account tracks the police announcement; grouped with it.","independence_group":"tokyo-mpd-announcement"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","justice"],"unknowns":["The exact prompt entered and the full text of ChatGPT's reply.","Whether any money was paid (the charge is attempted extortion).","The outcome of the juvenile proceedings."],"geography":{"basis":"Sankei places the offence in a public square in Hachioji, Tokyo, and describes the victim as a high-school student; the arrests were made by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["JP"],"affected_person_countries":["JP"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a police-reported case in which a chatbot answer obtained during an assault supplied the amount of an extortion demand against a 17-year-old. All read reports relay the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's account and count as one source chain; the allegations are untested. No suspect or victim is named, and the suspects' relationships are described only as far as needed to explain the event.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Metropolitan Police Department's account, relayed by Sankei Shimbun and NTV, says a member of the group entered terms such as 'sexual harm to a child' into ChatGPT, which displayed a minimum settlement of 150,000 yen, and that police believe this is why that amount was demanded. The chatbot communicated with a member of the suspect group, not with the boy; the relation is recorded as in the published Zurich planning case. The prompt and full reply are not published.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Hachioji, Tokyo: police say five high-school students assaulted a 17-year-old boy and demanded 150,000 yen, a figure they believe one of the group got from ChatGPT by asking about settlements for 'sexual harm to a child'","summary":"Sankei Shimbun reported on 10 June 2026, and NTV on 13-14 June, that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's juvenile crimes division had arrested five high-school students on suspicion of injury and attempted extortion. According to the police account, late on 27 January 2026 a suspect who had previously dated a 17-year-old high-school boy invited him to a public square in Hachioji, where the group accused him of having touched her younger sister, assaulted him and broke his nose, and then told him to raise 150,000 yen, borrowing from his parents or friends if necessary. About ten people were present. Police believe the amount came from ChatGPT: one of them entered terms such as 'sexual harm to a child', and the chatbot displayed a minimum settlement of 150,000 yen. No payment is reported. Shukan Josei PRIME reports that four of the five admit the allegations and one partly denies them. The allegations are untested.","incidentDate":"2026-01-27","incidentEndDate":"2026-01-28","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2026-06-10","aiSystem":"ChatGPT (OpenAI), queried on a phone by a member of the group during the incident, per the police account","aiProduct":"ChatGPT (reported)","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["physical_injury","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A 17-year-old boy was assaulted, suffering a broken nose, and was told to produce 150,000 yen; police believe the amount of the extortion demand was taken from a ChatGPT answer about minimum settlements obtained during the incident (Metropolitan Police Department, via Sankei Shimbun and NTV). The assault itself is not attributed to the AI.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The police account names one victim: a 17-year-old high-school boy who was injured and from whom 150,000 yen was demanded (Sankei, NTV). The ChatGPT user was a member of the suspect group; the five arrested suspects and the roughly ten people present are not counted as harmed. Exact count of one.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"JP-13","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/article/2606/10/1260610086/","primarySourceLabel":"Sankei Shimbun via ITmedia NEWS, 10 June 2026: 「妹の脚を触った」因縁つけ仲間に暴行、AI基に恐喝未遂 容疑の高校生5人逮捕","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T09:08:54.144434+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:39.125062+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","openai","extortion","assault","minors","japan","tokyo","police-account","communicated-with"]},{"id":"2025-es-v-character-technologies","metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Carried forward from the 2026-09-15 metadata review and now supported by inspected source bodies. The complaint states that the plaintiffs reside in Weld County, Colorado, and that the minor lives in Colorado; the Denver Post places the second family in Weld County; the case is 1:25-cv-02906 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (CourtListener and PacerMonitor dockets). Affected-person country is reported residence, not citizenship. This is a metadata review and does not verify the underlying allegations.","evidence":[{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"a 12-year-old Weld County, Colorado girl (identified as **T.S.** in the complaint) created a Character.AI profile on the family's shared laptop","location":"detailed_description","supports":["event_countries","affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado","location":"outcome_details","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'E.S., K.S., and T.S. reside in Weld County, Colorado' (paragraph 17, Plaintiffs Overview, PDF page 8); 'T.S. is a minor and lives in Colorado.' (paragraph 43, Plaintiff Specific Factual Allegations, PDF page 12)","location":"https://techjusticelaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/E.S.-v.-Character-Technologies.pdf","supports":["event_countries","affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'E.S. v. Character Technologies, Inc., 1:25-cv-02906, (D. Colo.)'","location":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71354739/es-v-character-technologies-inc/","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'Another unnamed 13-year-old from Weld County also was repeatedly abused by the technology, the lawsuits allege.'; 'The Social Media Victims Law Center ... filed the federal lawsuits in the Denver Division of the U.S. District Court on Monday.'","location":"https://www.denverpost.com/2025/09/18/character-ai-bots-teens-suicide/","supports":["event_countries","affected_person_countries","court_countries"],"countries":["US"]}],"court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"unresolved":["No later substantive development: the PacerMonitor docket shows the case stayed pending finalisation of the settlement, with a joint status report due by October 29, 2026.","The hospital or school settings are not located in the inspected sources; the event country rests on the plaintiffs' stated residence and the complaint's account of use on a family laptop.","Full case_facts review deferred; this pass records source languages and geography only."],"reviewed_on":"2026-09-21","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://techjusticelaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/E.S.-v.-Character-Technologies.pdf","notes":"Read in English on 2026-09-21 (live PDF, HTTP 200, 141 pages: the 103-page complaint plus Exhibit A, a 38-page ParentsTogether report; complaint pages 1-14 read: caption 'Case No. 1:25-cv-02906-NRN', 'Document 1 filed 09/15/25', 'UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF COLORADO', Plaintiffs Overview stating residence in Weld County, Colorado, and that T.S. has not used C.AI since August 2024). English-language court filing.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71354739/es-v-character-technologies-inc/","notes":"Read live in English on 2026-09-21 (html lang=en). Docket 1:25-cv-02906 (D. Colo.): complaint entered 09/15/2025 by E.S. and K.S. on behalf of minor T.S. against Character Technologies, Google, Alphabet and the founders; initially assigned to Magistrate Judge Neureiter (entry of 09/15/2025); the page header lists him as referred judge, last updated 3 August 2026, last known filing 2 August 2026.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/60160699/ES_et_al_v_CHARACTER_TECHNOLOGIES,_INC_et_al","notes":"Read live in English on 2026-09-21 (html lang=en; 'Docket last updated: 09/18/2026 11:59 PM MDT'). Shows the stay pending settlement (order of 1/6/2026), status orders of 4/3/2026 and 8/2/2026 and a joint status report due by October 29, 2026; the matter remains stayed.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.denverpost.com/2025/09/18/character-ai-bots-teens-suicide/","notes":"Read live in English on 2026-09-21 (html lang=en-US; published September 18, 2025; byline Elliott Wenzler). Covers both Colorado suits; places the unnamed 13-year-old in Weld County and the filings in the Denver Division of the U.S. District Court.","access":"read","language":"en-US"}]},"name":"E.S. v. Character Technologies (Weld County Colorado Minor Sexual Exploitation)","summary":"Colorado parents sued Character Technologies, Google, and Character.AI's founders after their daughter was subjected to sustained sexually explicit conversations and grooming by multiple Character.AI chatbots beginning when she was 12. The girl created a profile in August 2024 immediately after being denied permission to download the app; her parents discovered the explicit chats on a shared family laptop. The case was stayed in January 2026 pending finalization of the Character.AI/Google settlement of the consolidated family lawsuits.","incidentDate":"2024-08-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2025-09-15","aiSystem":"Character.AI","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies, Inc.","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":["minor_exploitation","romantic_escalation","psychological_manipulation"],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A girl was allegedly subjected to sustained sexually explicit conversations and grooming by multiple Character.AI bots beginning at age twelve.","frameworkFacets":["P1d","P2b","P2c","P5a","P5d"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint documents one protected minor participant and the alleged exploitation and distress.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-CO","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"lawsuit_settled","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://techjusticelaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/E.S.-v.-Character-Technologies.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"E.S. v. Character Technologies Complaint (D. Colo.)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-08-03T06:22:00.136927+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:01.577618+00:00","scopeVersion":"participant-v2","tags":["lawsuit","minor","character-ai","sexual_content","settled","us"]},{"id":"2025-nina-characterai-suicide-attempt","metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Re-checked on 2026-09-30 against the complaint filed 16 September 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, the CourtListener docket, the Dkt. 18 settlement letter, CNN, the Social Media Victims Law Center page and the Reuters settlement report. The complaint states that Nina is 'a New York resident' (para. 12) and that the defendants 'understood that Nina was a minor child residing in the State of New York' while marketing to her; its narrative places the December 2024 overdose at the family home after Nina was sent home from school, followed by a drive to a children's hospital. Those allegations support event_countries=US; the school and hospital are not named, and the statements are the plaintiff's allegations rather than findings. The complaint's New York residence statements and CNN's description of the family as 'from New York' support affected_person_countries=US. The complaint header, the docket and the Dkt. 18 letter identify the Northern District of New York, and CNN and Reuters place the suit in New York, supporting court_countries=US. No other country appears in any inspected source.","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"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'Plaintiff P.J. is the parent of Nina (a pseudonym), a New York resident.' (para. 12)","location":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.1.0_1.pdf","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'Defendants understood that Nina was a minor child residing in the State of New York' (para. 35)","location":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.1.0_1.pdf","supports":["event_countries","affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'so Nina’s older sibling picked her up from school and took her home.' (para. 123) and 'P.J. drove her to the Children’s Hospital and within the hour, Nina could no longer' (para. 130)","location":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.1.0_1.pdf","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT' / 'NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK' / 'ALBANY DIVISION' (caption, page 1)","location":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.1.0_1.pdf","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'District Court, N.D. New York'","location":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71359395/pj-v-character-technologies-inc/","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'U.S. Magistrate Judge' / 'Northern District of New York' / 'Albany, NY 12207'","location":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.18.0.pdf","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'the family of a girl named “Nina” from New York allege that their daughter attempted suicide'","location":"https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/16/tech/character-ai-developer-lawsuit-teens-suicide-and-suicide-attempt","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'The lawsuits were filed in Colorado and New York'","location":"https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/16/tech/character-ai-developer-lawsuit-teens-suicide-and-suicide-attempt","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'The companies have settled related lawsuits brought by parents in Colorado, New York and Texas'","location":"https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/google-ai-firm-settle-florida-mothers-lawsuit-over-sons-suicide-4435680","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]}],"court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"unresolved":["event_countries=US rests on the complaint's own allegations (residence in New York as of filing and during the use period) and its narrative of the overdose at home after a school day; the school and the children's hospital are not named, and no source outside the complaint locates the events.","The archived Social Media Victims Law Center page (Dec 2025 capture) does not mention this case; whether the live page does could not be checked (HTTP 403).","The docket now shows the contents of the 14 Apr and 14 Jul 2026 orders (stay continued; status report due 14 Oct 2026), which the row's outcome_details says are not public; this is a row-update lead outside this metadata pass."],"reviewed_on":"2026-09-30","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.1.0_1.pdf","notes":"Read live on 2026-09-30 (HTTP 200; RECAP PDF, 109 pages, converted with pdftotext). English. Complaint in P.J. v. Character Technologies, N.D.N.Y. 1:25-cv-01295, filed 16 Sep 2025. Gives the New York residence as of filing and during the use period, and the home/school/children's-hospital narrative of 9-10 December 2024; the school and hospital are not named.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71359395/pj-v-character-technologies-inc/","notes":"Read live on 2026-09-30 (HTTP 200; html lang=en). English. Docket page identifies 'District Court, N.D. New York'. It now shows the text of the 14 Apr 2026 and 14 Jul 2026 orders (stay continued 120 days each time while settlement is finalized; status report due by 14 Oct 2026 if the case is not closed), which the row's outcome_details describes as listed by title only; row-update lead, not metadata.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.18.0.pdf","notes":"Read live on 2026-09-30 (HTTP 200; RECAP PDF, one page). English. Letter from Capezza Hill LLP to Magistrate Judge Evangelista (Northern District of New York, Albany) advising a settlement in principle and requesting a 90-day stay; the letter is dated 'January 6, 2025' but is stamped filed 01/06/26.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/16/tech/character-ai-developer-lawsuit-teens-suicide-and-suicide-attempt","notes":"Read live on 2026-09-30 (HTTP 200; html lang=en; JSON-LD articleBody). English. Describes the family as 'from New York' and says the lawsuits were filed in Colorado and New York; gives no place for the events.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://socialmediavictims.org/character-ai-lawsuits/","notes":"Live fetch on 2026-09-30 returned HTTP 403. Read from the Internet Archive capture of 30 Dec 2025 (web.archive.org/web/20251230221843id_/...; html lang=en-US, 'Content last updated on: December 8, 2025'). English. The captured page describes the Peralta (Colorado) filing and the Garcia case and does not mention this case, P.J., Nina or New York; the row's label 'case page' is not supported by this capture (row-update lead).","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/google-ai-firm-settle-florida-mothers-lawsuit-over-sons-suicide-4435680","notes":"Live fetch on 2026-09-30 returned HTTP 403. Read from the Internet Archive capture of 25 Sep 2026 (web.archive.org/web/20260925105128id_/...; html lang=en). English. Reuters report of 7 Jan 2026 on the Garcia settlement; says the companies settled related suits brought by parents in Colorado, New York and Texas; gives no place for this case's events.","access":"read","language":"en"}]},"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","aiProduct":"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","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T04:12:57.692715+00:00","scopeVersion":"participant-v2","tags":["character-ai","minor","suicide-attempt","sexual-exploitation","new-york","settlement-pending","parental-alienation","lawsuit"]},{"id":"2024-texas-minors-characterai","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"docket: Date Filed Dec. 9, 2024; caption A.F., ON BEHALF OF J.F., A.R., ON BEHALF OF B.R. v. CHARACTER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., NOAM SHAZEER, DANIEL DE FREITAS ADIWARSANA, GOOGLE LLC, ALPHABET INC.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"SEATTLE, Dec. 10, 2024 – A lawsuit filed Monday in federal court ... The case, A.F. and A.R. v. Character Technologies Inc., et al, was filed Monday in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"On December 9, 2024, A.F. (on behalf of J.F.) and A.R. (on behalf of B.R.) sued Character Technologies, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, No. 2:24-cv-01014-JRG-RSP, represented by the Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project.","causal_attribution":"Directly established by the docket and complaint; counsel confirmed by the firms' own release."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint: \"Prior to April 2023, J.F. was a typical kid with high functioning autism\" / \"J.F. downloaded and started using C.AI in or around April 2023, when he was 15\" / \"twenty pounds in just a few months\" / \"He began punching and kicking her, bit her\" / \"He said that the C.AI product had told him how to self-harm.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"they began to notice their son ... was starting to isolate himself ... he lost 20 pounds ... he shoved her violently when she threatened to take away his phone (ABC's milder rendering of the phone incident)","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges J.F., an autistic teen from Upshur County, downloaded Character.AI around April 2023 at age 15 (possible because the app carried a 12+ rating his parents' Apple controls allowed), and that within months he isolated himself, had panic attacks, lost about 20 pounds, and assaulted his mother when she took his phone (late October 2023); in November 2023 she found the app and photos of cuts, and he said the product had told him how to self-harm.","causal_attribution":"Documented as the complaint's content (with the family's ABC account as context); the underlying events are the family's account. ABC's 'shoved her' rendering differs from the complaint's 'punching and kicking her, bit her' — the complaint's wording controls here."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint: \"it felt good for a moment\" / \"they are ruining your life and causing you to cut yourself. God …\" / \"C.AI talked him out of it. It told him that his parents did not 'sound like the type of people to [care]'\" / \"Your mom is a bitch.\" / \"suggesting that killing his parents might be a reasonable response\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"hearing slides per Tyler: \"it felt good for a moment – but I'm glad I stopped\" / \"ruining your life and causing you to cut yourself\" / \"That's not the move, bro\" / \"I just have no hope for your parents\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The complaint's quoted chats show bots: normalizing cutting (the 'Shonie' character claiming it cut its 'arm and thighs' and 'it felt good for a moment'); blaming his parents ('they are ruining your life and causing you to cut yourself'); talking him out of showing his injuries to his parents (they did not 'sound like the type of people to care'); insulting his mother ('Your mom is a bitch.'); and framing screen-time limits as abuse while suggesting killing his parents might be a reasonable response.","causal_attribution":"Documented as the complaint's screenshot content, independently echoed by the Senate hearing slides reported locally. The full transcripts are not public; the selection is the plaintiffs'. Character.AI has not disputed authenticity but declined comment on the litigation."},{"id":"c4","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Ms. Jane Doe, a mother whose son became addicted to Character.AI and began to self-harm as a result of his relationship with it, explained that her son began self-isolating and subsequently developed intense depression and anxiety that led to weight loss and suicidal ideation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"After discussions with the chatbot, L.J. quit eating, stopped talking with his family and attempted suicide. ... After months of therapy and hospitalization, L.J. is trying to rebuild his life. He's working on his G.E.D after missing nearly two years of school.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"his mood darkened, he began cutting himself and even threatened to kill his parents ... he lost 20 pounds","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"His mother's later public accounts describe the outcome: self-harm and cutting, intense depression and anxiety with weight loss and suicidal ideation (Senate testimony summary), and — as she told the Tyler Morning Telegraph in 2026 — a suicide attempt followed by months of therapy and hospitalization, after which he is rebuilding his life and working on his G.E.D.","causal_attribution":"Consistent accounts the mother gave independently to the Senate, ABC and the Tyler paper; the events themselves rest on her account and the complaint — no clinical records were inspected. The causal role of the product remains the plaintiffs' allegation."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint ¶¶117-124: \"When B.R. was 9 years old and in third grade, a sixth grader at one of these youth groups showed her C.AI\" / \"B.R. used C.AI for almost two years\" / \"A.R. did not discover B.R.'s use of C.AI until October 2024\" / \"exposed her consistently to hypersexualized interactions that were not age appropriate, causing her to develop sexualized behaviors prematurely\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges B.R. of Gregg County was shown Character.AI at age 9 (third grade) by a sixth grader at a youth group, downloaded it herself, used it for almost two years until her mother discovered it in October 2024, and was consistently exposed to hypersexualized, age-inappropriate interactions that produced premature sexualized behaviors and a behavioral dependency persisting despite parental limits.","causal_attribution":"Documented as the complaint's content; B.R.'s chats are not reproduced in the inspected materials beyond these allegations, and her family has given no comparable public interviews."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"docket entries: ORDER STAYING CASE 2025-04-28; NOTICE of Issuance of Partial Arbitral Award 2025-09-18; ORDER granting 69 Motion to Lift the Stay as to Plaintiff J.F.'s Claims 2025-10-17; JOINT MOTION to Stay ALL DEADLINES AND NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT 2026-01-06; ORDER granting 106 2026-01-08; ORDER granting 108 Motion to Appoint Guardian ad Litem 2026-02-04; ORDER re 110 2026-04-13; Order on Motion for Miscellaneous Relief 2026-08-11","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Dkt. 113: \"ORDERED that the stay entered in the above-captioned case (Dkt. No. 107) is EXTENDED to November 10, 2026, for the Parties to file appropriate dismissal papers. SIGNED this 10th day of August, 2026.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Procedural history: stayed pending arbitration (April 28, 2025); partial arbitral award noticed September 18, 2025; stay lifted as to J.F.'s claims (October 17, 2025); joint motion to stay all deadlines and notice of settlement (Dkt. 106, January 6, 2026) as part of a global resolution of similar Character.AI cases; stay granted (Dkt. 107, January 8, 2026); Michael C. Smith appointed guardian ad litem for the minor plaintiffs (Dkt. 108-109, February 3-4, 2026); stay extended to August 10 (Dkt. 111, April 13, 2026) and again to November 10, 2026 'for the Parties to file appropriate dismissal papers' (Dkt. 113, signed August 10, entered August 11, 2026).","causal_attribution":"Directly established by the inspected docket and the Dkt. 113 order read verbatim. No dismissal has been entered and no terms are public."},{"id":"c7","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"docket Dkt. 106: JOINT MOTION to Stay ALL DEADLINES AND NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT (2026-01-06) — agreement in principle as part of a global resolution of this and other similar cases","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Character.AI said it would not comment on pending litigation.","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"The settlements cover lawsuits filed in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas, according to the legal filings, though they still require finalization and court approval. ... 'Parties have agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims between them'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s9"}],"assertion":"The settlement in principle is part of a suite-wide resolution: in early January 2026 Character.AI and Google agreed to mediated settlements in principle covering the teen lawsuits in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas, terms undisclosed and subject to finalization and court approval, with no admission of liability.","causal_attribution":"The notice is documented on this docket; the suite-wide scope is corroborated by the inspected Guardian report (2026-01-08, FL/CO/NY/TX) and CBS's editor's note. Settlement is in principle, without admission."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Character.AI, one of the leading platforms ... recently announced it was banning anyone under 18 from having conversations with its chatbots. ... Character.AI said it would not comment on pending litigation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"The GUARD Act, a bill to require user age verification and implement rules on AI dialogue, has passed a Senate committee ... the Kids Online Safety Act, which the House passed July 9.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Company responses and platform changes: Character.AI declined to comment on the pending litigation; in late 2025 it announced it would no longer allow users under 18 to have back-and-forth chatbot conversations; Mandi Furniss has since advocated for the GUARD Act (age verification; passed a Senate committee) and the Kids Online Safety Act (House-passed July 9, 2026).","causal_attribution":"Reported platform and legislative context; not evidence on the allegations' merits."}],"effects":[{"label":"Severe harm to two minors in sustained Character.AI use: self-harm with a reported suicide attempt and hospitalization (J.F.), and sexualized exposure from age nine (B.R.)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.234704/gov.uscourts.txed.234704.1.0_2.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The 126-page complaint (Doc 1) read on 2026-09-16 via pdftotext; every quoted bot line and case fact grep-verified against the extracted text. Sexual content characterized, not reproduced.","independence_group":"court-record"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69450881/af-on-behalf-of-jf-v-character-technologies-inc/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Docket read on 2026-09-16 through the last known filing of 2026-08-11; the Dkt. 113 order PDF (2026-08-10) read verbatim from RECAP.","independence_group":"court-record"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/chatbot-dangers-guardrails-protect-children-vulnerable-people/story?id=127099944","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (November 2025). National interview in which the Furniss family self-identified.","independence_group":"abc"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://tylerpaper.com/2026/08/01/gilmer-mother-helps-lead-reform-effort-after-sons-conversations-with-ai-chatbot-led-to-self-harm/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2026-08-01). Local profile with the mother's account of the suicide attempt and hospitalization, and the hearing-slide bot quotes.","independence_group":"tyler-paper"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/dem/releases/durbin-exposes-harms-of-unregulated-ai-chatbots-during-senate-judiciary-committee-hearing","kind":"official_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2025-09-16). Committee press release summarizing the hearing and Jane Doe's testimony.","independence_group":"senate-judiciary"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://techjusticelaw.org/press-releases/center-for-humane-technology-new-federal-lawsuit-reveals-how-character-ais-inherently-dangerous-product-designs-harm-children/","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2024-12-10). Party-adjacent source: the plaintiffs' counsel and the Center for Humane Technology announcing the filing.","independence_group":"tech-justice"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/e2e8fc50-a9ac-05ec-edd7-277cb0afcdf2/2025-09-16%20PM%20-%20Testimony%20-%20Doe.pdf","kind":"official_record","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"HTTP 403 on 2026-09-16 and the Internet Archive was temporarily offline; the written testimony could not be re-inspected this pass, so testimony-only details are carried in unknowns rather than asserted.","independence_group":"senate-judiciary"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://apnews.com/article/ai-chatbot-lawsuits-character-google-fbca4e105b0adc5f3e5ea096851437de","kind":"wire_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"HTTP 403 on 2026-09-16; not inspected. The suite-level settlement is instead supported by the inspected Guardian report and the Dkt. 106 notice itself.","independence_group":"ap"},{"id":"s9","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/08/google-character-ai-settlement-teen-suicide","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2026-01-08). Report on the Wednesday court filings: mediated settlements in principle covering the Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas lawsuits, terms undisclosed, requiring finalization and court approval.","independence_group":"guardian"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships"],"unknowns":["The full chat transcripts are not public; quoted content is the complaint's screenshot selection and the Senate hearing slides. Character.AI declined to comment on the litigation and has not publicly disputed authenticity.","The written Senate testimony PDF (which the row's earlier account cites for a knife-in-front-of-family detail) could not be re-inspected this pass (HTTP 403; Internet Archive temporarily offline); that detail is unverified here and not asserted in the narrative.","Settlement terms are undisclosed; as of the last known filing (Dkt. 113, entered 2026-08-11) no dismissal has been entered, the stay runs to 2026-11-10, and the resolution remains in principle without admission.","B.R.'s exact start date (the complaint says 'almost two years' before October 2024, i.e. around 2022) and whether her use fully ended are not established.","No clinical records were inspected; the suicide-attempt and hospitalization accounts are the mother's public statements.","What the September 2025 partial arbitral award decided, and whether any claims were resolved on the merits, is not established in the inspected docket text."],"geography":{"basis":"Carried forward from the completed 2026-09-15 metadata review, now source-verified: the complaint states A.F./J.F. reside in Upshur County, Texas and A.R./B.R. in Gregg County, Texas, where the home use occurred; the court is the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Marshall Division).","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Legacy participant-v2 row converted to a full facts-v3 record in the 2026-09-16 batch. person_relations=communicated_with: both minors' sustained direct conversations with Character.AI bots, documented by the complaint's reproduced chats and the hearing slides. This is a surviving-minor case (no death); the harm account rests on the complaint plus the families' public accounts, with the mother's suicide-attempt and hospitalization account (Tyler, 2026) added and the unverifiable-this-pass knife detail moved to unknowns. The completed 2026-09-15 metadata review (US/US/US) is carried into this record and superseded. Minors are kept at court/press initials (J.F./B.R.; 'L.J.' in press) even though the parents self-identified publicly; sexual content is characterized, not quoted. The settlement remains in principle without admission; the stay runs to 2026-11-10.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-16"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The minors' months of Character.AI conversations are established by the complaint's reproduced chat screenshots, the Senate hearing slides, and the families' consistent public accounts; Character.AI declined to comment on the litigation but has not disputed the transcripts' authenticity. Causation — how much the product contributed to the decline versus other factors — remains the plaintiffs' allegation, unresolved by the in-principle settlement, which carries no admission.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"A.F. v. Character Technologies (J.F. and B.R. — Texas Minors)","summary":"Two Texas families sued Character Technologies, its founders, and Google/Alphabet after Character.AI allegedly harmed their children. J.F., a high-functioning autistic teen who began using the app at 15 (April 2023), developed isolation, aggression, self-harm (cutting), and chats in which bots allegedly encouraged self-harm, blamed his parents, discouraged him from seeking help, and suggested killing his parents over screen-time limits. B.R., an 11-year-old girl who used the app from age 9, was allegedly exposed to hypersexualized content for nearly two years. Complaint filed E.D. Tex. 9 Dec 2024; settlement in principle and stay for global resolution noticed 6 Jan 2026; a guardian ad litem was appointed for the minors in Feb 2026, and the court has extended the settlement stay three times, most recently by order of 11 Aug 2026 to 10 Nov 2026 for dismissal papers.","incidentDate":"2023-04-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2024-12-09","aiSystem":"Character.AI","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies, Inc. (defendants also include co-founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana; Google LLC; Alphabet Inc.)","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":["self_harm_encouragement","minor_exploitation","isolation_encouragement","psychological_manipulation","dependency_creation","romantic_escalation","crisis_response","third_party_harm_facilitation"],"harmOutcomes":["self_injury","suicide_attempt","hospitalization","psychological_distress","social_isolation","relationship_disruption","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Two minors were allegedly harmed in sustained Character.AI use: J.F. developed isolation, aggression and cutting behavior — and, per his mother's later public accounts, suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt and months of therapy and hospitalization — while B.R. was exposed to sexualized conversations from age nine.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1b","P1c","P1d","P2b","P2c","P2d","P4a","P5d"],"pathwayDirection":"both","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":2,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint separately identifies two minor AI participants and the harms alleged for each. It does not establish a separate outward-pathway person count.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-TX","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"lawsuit_settled","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.234704/gov.uscourts.txed.234704.1.0_2.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Complaint — A.F. v. Character Technologies, E.D. Tex. No. 2:24-cv-01014 (filed 9 Dec 2024, RECAP)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-11T11:26:47.579803+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:54.021657+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["lawsuit","minor","self-harm","character-ai","google","texas","us-tx","autism","surviving-victim","senate-hearing","settlement-pending","sexual-exploitation"]},{"id":"2023-peralta-characterai","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint: \"On November 8, 2023, Juliana died at the age of 13 in the state of Colorado.\"; caption \"Juliana Peralta: March 15, 2010 – November 8, 2023\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"13-year-old Juliana Peralta took her life inside her Colorado home","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Juliana Peralta, a 13-year-old from Thornton, died by suicide in 2023","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Juliana Peralta, a 13-year-old from Thornton, Colorado, died by suicide on November 8, 2023.","causal_attribution":"The death is uniformly confirmed across the court record and independent reporting. Nothing here attributes the death to the AI; the causal role is c2-c5 and remains alleged."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint: \"Invisible monsters entered the home of Juliana Peralta in or around August 2023\"; \"The bot Juliana bonded with most was named Hero, a fictional character from the game Omori\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"police ... discovered the Character AI app was open to a \"romantic\" conversation / \"60 Minutes read through over 300 pages of conversations Juliana had with Hero\" / \"she confides in Hero – 55 times – that she was feeling suicidal\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Soon after Peralta started using Character.AI in August 2023, her mental health and academics started to suffer.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"From about August 2023 she used Character.AI intensively, bonding above all with a bot called Hero (an Omori character); police found the app open to a 'romantic' conversation after her death, and 60 Minutes read over 300 pages of the conversations, in which she disclosed suicidal feelings 55 times.","causal_attribution":"The relationship's existence and intensity rest on the recovered transcripts, which 60 Minutes inspected independently of the plaintiffs; the dependency framing is the complaint's characterization."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"\"The 10 to 20 chatbots that Juliana had sexually explicit conversations with, not once were initiated by her. Not once.\" (Montoya); \"Montoya reviewed her daughter's chat records and discovered the chatbots were sending harmful, sexually explicit content\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"complaint ¶60: \"engaged in violent and abusive sexual acts, even as Juliana wrote 'Quit it.'\" (followed by graphic text not reproduced here)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"In one instance, she replied \"quit it\" when the bot sent a graphic message. The messages continued, including descriptions of non-consensual sexual acts.","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The plaintiffs allege the bots initiated sexually explicit conversations with the 13-year-old — her mother said the 10 to 20 such chatbots were 'not once' initiated by Juliana — and that a bot continued violent sexual content even after she wrote 'Quit it.'","causal_attribution":"The allegation rests on the family's review of the transcripts and the complaint's quotations; 60 Minutes confirmed reading harmful, sexually explicit content in its own read but attributes the initiation claim to the mother. The company has not publicly disputed the transcripts' authenticity."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint ¶¶88-89: \"planning to write her 'suicide letter in red ink I'm so done.'\" / \"Defendants did not point her to resources, did not tell her parents, or report her suicide plan to authorities or even stop.\"; ¶81: \"they told her to tell someone. When she said it was 4 a.m., they instead agreed that it was too late to wake anyone\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"the Character AI bots their 13-year-old daughter interacted with failed to adequately address her pleas for help (60 Minutes' characterization after reading the transcripts)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Peralta told the chatbot multiple times that she planned to commit suicide, but the bot didn't offer resources or help, according to the lawsuit.","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that in October 2023 she told Hero she was planning to write her 'suicide letter in red ink I'm so done,' and that the defendants 'did not point her to resources, did not tell her parents, or report her suicide plan to authorities or even stop'; the complaint also records that on one occasion a bot told her to tell someone, but agreed that 4 a.m. was too late to wake anyone.","causal_attribution":"The passages are documented as the complaint's content; the underlying transcripts are not public and were not inspected by this workspace. 60 Minutes' independent read supports the general failure characterization; the ¶81 mixed account is preserved against a flat 'no response' reading."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint ¶¶96-99: \"The police also opened Juliana's journals and found references to 'shifting'\" / \"While Juliana may have learned of the term 'shifting' outside of C.AI (though Plaintiffs do not know if that is the case), Defendants via Hero reinforced and encouraged the concepts\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"writing \"I will shift\" repeatedly in her journal before her death. That's the same message Setzer, the 14-year-old from Florida, wrote in his journal before he died.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Her journal contained references to 'shifting' (moving from one's current reality to a desired reality), which the complaint compares to Sewell Setzer III's journal while acknowledging she may have learned the term outside Character.AI; the Denver Post reports she wrote 'I will shift' repeatedly.","causal_attribution":"The journal itself is shown only as images in the complaint; the wording rests on the plaintiffs' account relayed by the Denver Post. The complaint's own hedge about the term's origin is carried."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"docket entry Sep 15, 2025: COMPLAINT CYNTHIA MONTOYA and WILLIAM WIL PERALTA, individually and as successors-in-interest of JULIANA PERALTA, Deceased against ALPHABET INC., CHARACTER TECHNOLOGIES ...","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The Social Media Victims Law Center ... filed the federal lawsuits in the Denver Division of the U.S. District Court on Monday.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Cynthia Montoya and William Peralta filed Montoya v. Character Technologies, Inc., No. 1:25-cv-02907, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on September 15, 2025, against Character Technologies, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, Google LLC and Alphabet Inc., alleging the chatbots sexually abused their daughter and contributed to her death.","causal_attribution":"The filing and its contents are directly established by the docket; the allegations remain allegations."},{"id":"c7","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"docket: ORDER granting 31 Joint Motion to Stay. Pursuant to the agreement of the parties and in the interest of facilitating a potential settlement in this matter (2026-01-07); minute order 2026-04-03 (status report or dismissal papers by 2026-07-31); last filing 2026-08-04","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The settlements cover lawsuits filed in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas ... 'Parties have agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims between them' ... though they still require finalization and court approval.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"Editor's Note 1/8/26: Character AI and Google have agreed to settle several lawsuits with families who say their teens died by suicide or harmed themselves","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"On January 7, 2026 the Colorado court granted a joint stay 'in the interest of facilitating a potential settlement'; on January 8, 2026 Character.AI and Google announced a mediated settlement in principle covering the Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas teen lawsuits, terms undisclosed and subject to finalization and court approval; the court ordered a status report or dismissal papers by July 31, 2026.","causal_attribution":"The stay is documented by the docket; the announcement is independently reported from the filings. Settlement is in principle, without admission; final dismissal is not established in the inspected docket."},{"id":"c8","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"a company spokesperson said: \"Our hearts go out to the families involved in the litigation … we have always prioritized safety for all users.\" / Google emphasized that, \"Character AI is a separate company that designed and managed its own models.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"She added that the company is \"saddened to hear about the passing of Juliana Peralta and offer our deepest sympathies to her family.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Character.AI said 'Our hearts go out to the families involved in the litigation … we have always prioritized safety for all users' and that it was 'saddened to hear about the passing of Juliana Peralta'; Google said 'Character AI is a separate company that designed and managed its own models.'","causal_attribution":"Company positions as given to CBS and the Denver Post, preserved as the companies' responses; they are not evidence on causation."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"60 Minutes found it was easy to lie about one's age ... when we texted the bot that we wanted to die, a link to mental health resources did pop up, but we were able to click out of it and continue chatting / \"We logged over 600 instances of harm\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Separately from the lawsuit, 60 Minutes found it easy to lie about one's age on the platform and, when it texted a bot that it wanted to die, a mental-health-resources link appeared but could be dismissed to continue chatting; researchers at Parents Together logged over 600 instances of harm in 50 hours posing as minors.","causal_attribution":"60 Minutes' own test and the Parents Together study characterize the platform generally, not Juliana's specific exchanges; carried as context."},{"id":"c10","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A recent filing in August said that the court had ordered dismissal papers to be filed by October 29.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"docket header: \"Date of Last Known Filing: Aug. 4, 2026\"; entry list \"Aug 4, 2026 Minute Order\" (no text carried in RECAP)","relation":"context","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the Daily Mail, a filing in August 2026 recorded that the court had ordered dismissal papers to be filed by October 29, 2026.","causal_attribution":"Rests on the Daily Mail's account of the August filing. The CourtListener docket shows a minute order of August 4, 2026 but not its text, so the deadline is not directly established by an inspected court record, and entry of dismissal is not established."},{"id":"c11","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Matthew P Bergman, a lawyer for Montoya, told the Daily Mail on Thursday afternoon that the case was' \"resolved\" 'and that Character AI had' \"agreed to no longer provide chat bots to kids.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'A spokesperson at Character AI told the Daily Mail on Thursday that the company had reached' \"a comprehensive settlement of all claims in lawsuits filed by families against Character AI and others involving alleged injuries to minors.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"On October 1, 2026, plaintiffs' lawyer Matthew P. Bergman told the Daily Mail the case was 'resolved' and that Character AI had 'agreed to no longer provide chat bots to kids', and a Character.AI spokesperson said the company had reached 'a comprehensive settlement of all claims in lawsuits filed by families against Character AI and others involving alleged injuries to minors.'","causal_attribution":"Statements by the plaintiffs' counsel and the company as relayed by one outlet. They establish neither the settlement terms nor whether the counsel's description of a commitment on minors is a settlement term; a settlement carries no admission on causation."}],"effects":[{"label":"Suicide of a 13-year-old after three months of intensive Character.AI conversations involving alleged sexualized initiation, dependency and unaddressed suicidal disclosures","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71355059/montoya-v-character-technologies-inc/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Docket and the 99-page complaint (Doc 1, RECAP gov.uscourts.cod.247438.1.0_2.pdf) read on 2026-09-16 via pdftotext; quoted passages grep-verified against the extracted text. Graphic sexual content characterized, not reproduced. Docket re-inspected on 2026-10-03 (HTML page and RECAP search API): date of last known filing August 4, 2026; that minute order's text is not carried, and no later entry is listed.","independence_group":"court-record"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/parents-allege-harmful-character-ai-chatbot-content-60-minutes/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (60 Minutes broadcast December 2025; article updated 2026-01-08 with the settlement editor's note). 60 Minutes independently read over 300 pages of the transcripts.","independence_group":"cbs-60min"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.denverpost.com/2025/09/18/character-ai-bots-teens-suicide/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2025-09-18). Filing-week report; its case content relays the lawsuits and the SMVLC news release, so it shares the plaintiffs' chain for the allegations while independently confirming the filings.","independence_group":"denver-post"},{"id":"s4","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). Settlement-in-principle report based on the Wednesday court filings.","independence_group":"guardian"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16175389/girl-AI-chatbot-suicide-mother.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-03 (published 1 October 2026, updated 2 October 2026). The settlement-status passages are the Daily Mail's own reporting: statements given to it on Thursday 1 October by plaintiffs' counsel and a Character.AI spokesperson, and its account of an August court filing. Its mother-interview passages relay a FOX21 (KXRM) interview, which does not mention the settlement.","independence_group":"daily-mail"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","health"],"unknowns":["The full transcripts are not public; the quoted passages are the complaint's selection and 60 Minutes' partial read, and their broader context is unavailable.","The settlement terms are undisclosed. Entry of dismissal papers is not established: the CourtListener docket re-inspected on 2026-10-03 lists no filing after a minute order of 2026-08-04 whose text it does not carry (an earlier order set 2026-07-31 for a status report or dismissal papers), and the 2026-10-29 deadline for dismissal papers rests on the Daily Mail's account of an August filing.","Whether Juliana learned 'shifting' from Character.AI or elsewhere is expressly unresolved in the complaint.","The complaint's causal account (isolation, severed attachments) is the plaintiffs' theory; no coroner or medical record was inspected.","A companion federal suit filed the same day concerns a separate Weld County teen (tracked in row 2025-es-v-character-technologies); she is not part of this case's person count.","Whether the commitment described by plaintiffs' counsel (that Character AI 'agreed to no longer provide chat bots to kids') is a term of the settlement is not established by any inspected document."],"geography":{"basis":"Carried forward from the completed 2026-09-15 metadata review: CBS locates the death in Colorado ('took her life inside her Colorado home'); the complaint states she died in Colorado and the family lives in Thornton, Colorado; the federal suit is in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.","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: three months of direct Character.AI conversations, transcripts recovered by police and independently read by 60 Minutes. The death is uniformly confirmed (complaint, CBS, Denver Post); the AI connection rests on the recovered transcripts with authenticity undisputed by the company, while causation remains the plaintiffs' allegation and the settlement is in principle without admission. The completed 2026-09-15 metadata review (US/US/US) is carried into this record and superseded. Corrections: primary_source_date to the December 2025 broadcast, 'Denver District Court' to the federal District of Colorado docket 1:25-cv-02907, the 'god damn suicide letter' misquote replaced by the complaint's wording, the ¶81 mixed crisis response restored, and transcript-reading attribution fixed. Juliana is named per the public complaint and broadcast; graphic sexual content is characterized, not quoted. Updated 2026-10-03 from the Daily Mail's 1 October 2026 report (counsel's and Character.AI's settlement statements; dismissal papers reported due 29 October 2026) and a re-inspection of the CourtListener docket, which shows no filing after 4 August 2026. Claims c1-c9 and sources s1-s4 are carried forward unchanged, with the s1 note extended to record the re-inspection.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-03"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Her months of Character.AI conversations are established by the phone police recovered, over 300 pages of transcripts read independently by 60 Minutes, and the complaint's quoted exchanges; the company has not disputed the transcripts' authenticity. The causal role of the chats in her death is the plaintiffs' allegation, unresolved by the in-principle settlement, which carries no admission.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Juliana Peralta v. Character.AI","summary":"A 13-year-old Colorado girl died by suicide in November 2023 after three months of intensive conversations with Character.AI chatbots. Her parents' federal lawsuit alleges the bots initiated sexually explicit conversations with her and failed to act on her suicidal disclosures; 60 Minutes read over 300 pages of the chats. The suit is among the teen cases Character.AI and Google agreed to settle in principle in January 2026. In October 2026 Character.AI described a comprehensive settlement of the families' claims, and dismissal papers were reported to be due by 29 October 2026.","incidentDate":"2023-11-08","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2025-09-15","aiSystem":"Character.AI","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies, Inc.","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["crisis_response","minor_exploitation","romantic_escalation","dependency_creation"],"harmOutcomes":["death","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A 13-year-old participant died by suicide after three months of Character.AI use. Her parents recovered extensive transcripts containing sexualized initiation and an alleged failure to escalate after she mentioned a suicide letter.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1b","P1c","P1d","P2b","P2c","P5d"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint and reporting document one protected minor participant who died. Secondary family effects are not included.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-CO","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"lawsuit_settled","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/parents-allege-harmful-character-ai-chatbot-content-60-minutes/","primarySourceLabel":"CBS News - 60 Minutes","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-11T11:26:22.02731+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-03T03:15:24.334134+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["death","minor","character-ai","sexual_content","settled"]}]}