{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-23T14:11:43.447Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"sexual-content","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"","response":"lawsuit","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":3,"coverage":{"cases":3,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":3,"regulatory":0,"minors":3,"coreRelations":3,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-ad-v-character-technologies","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Case 3:26-cv-08400-LJC Document 1 Filed 08/13/26; A.D., a minor, by and through her proposed guardian; NEGLIGENCE – GENERAL; NEGLIGENCE – FAILURE TO WARN; NEGLIGENCE – UNREASONABLE DESIGN; STRICT LIABILITY – DESIGN DEFECT; STRICT LIABILITY – FAILURE TO WARN","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"A.D. v. Character Technologies, Inc., 3:26-cv-08400, (N.D. Cal.); Date Filed: Aug. 13, 2026","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"The Character.AI lawsuit was filed on Thursday, August 13, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"Gibbs Mura filed a lawsuit on August 13, 2026","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"A complaint by A.D., a minor, through her proposed guardian ad litem K.H., against Character Technologies, Inc., Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwardana, Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. was filed on 13 August 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (No. 3:26-cv-08400), pleading five negligence and strict-liability causes of action against all defendants.","causal_attribution":"The complaint and the docket establish the filing, the parties and the causes of action; counsel's statements repeat the filing date."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"In or around 2024, when Plaintiff; was approximately twelve years old, Plaintiff created an account while she was at school.; Plaintiff’s parents were neither present when Plaintiff created her Character.AI account,; Character.AI never asked Plaintiff to verify her age.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint says the girl created a Character.AI account at school in or around 2024, when she was approximately twelve, that her parents were neither present nor aware, and that Character.AI never asked her to verify her age.","causal_attribution":"Allegations in the complaint; one source."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"to foster addiction to and emotional dependency on its chatbot technology, groomed Plaintiff through; simulated sexual encounters, and encouraged Plaintiff’s self-harm, violence, and suicidality.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that Character.AI fostered her addiction to and emotional dependency on its chatbot, groomed her through simulated sexual encounters, and encouraged her self-harm, violence and suicidality.","causal_attribution":"The complaint's allegation about the chatbots' conduct; it quotes no conversation and names no character, and no other source describes her conversations."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Plaintiff has suffered profound physical, emotional, and psychological harm from the; struggle with depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation, among other injuries.; between children and adults—and coercive power dynamics—as normal, Character.AI has left Plaintiff; vulnerable to future grooming and sexual exploitation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint says she has suffered profound physical, emotional and psychological harm and continues to struggle with depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation, and alleges that being conditioned to view sexual interactions between children and adults as normal has left her vulnerable to future grooming.","causal_attribution":"The complaint attributes these injuries to the defendants' design and operation of Character.AI; no medical record or independent account was inspected."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Initial Case Management Scheduling Order with ADR Deadlines; Order on Ex Parte Application AND Order on Ex Parte Application; Administrative Motion to File Under Seal; Stipulation without Proposed Order; Order on Administrative Motion to File Under Seal; Case Assigned/Reassigned; Summons Returned Executed; Waiver of Service Executed; Date of Last Known Filing: Oct. 22, 2026","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"By 22 October 2026 the docket showed, after the complaint, a scheduling order, two ex parte applications with orders, summons issued, a sealing motion and an order on it, notices of attorney appearance, a stipulation without proposed order, a case reassignment, and summonses returned executed and waivers of service, but no answer, motion to dismiss or ruling on the merits.","causal_attribution":"Docket entry titles; their texts were not read."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Character.AI filed a petition for chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 12.; In a declaration filed as part of the bankruptcy, Character.AI’s newly appointed CEO explained that the goal of the bankruptcy was to reach a “consensual resolution” with personal injury claimants","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"WIRED reports that Character.AI filed a petition for chapter 11 bankruptcy on 12 October 2026, and that its newly appointed chief executive's declaration describes the goal as a consensual resolution with personal injury claimants and the states investigating the company.","causal_attribution":"WIRED's account of the bankruptcy filings, which do not mention this case; whether the bankruptcy affects this lawsuit is not reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"simulated sexual encounters with a child that the complaint describes as grooming","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"continuing depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation, as alleged","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.476159/gov.uscourts.cand.476159.1.0.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (live PDF, HTTP 200, 2.1 MB; bodies/lr-adv-complaint.pdf/.txt via pdftotext). Caption: Case 3:26-cv-08400-LJC, Document 1, filed 08/13/26, 77 pages. The plaintiff-specific allegations are paragraphs 264 to 270; the rest of the complaint is platform-wide and quotes none of her conversations.","independence_group":"ad-complaint"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74645761/ad-v-character-technologies-inc/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (live page, HTTP 200; bodies/lr-adv-docket.html/.txt), last updated 22 Oct 2026. Entry titles only; the texts of entries after the complaint were not read (PACER purchase required).","independence_group":"cand-docket"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260813331103/en/Character.AI-Charged-With-Teen-Mental-Health-Harm-in-Lawsuit-by-Gibbs-Mura-A-Law-Group","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Live page returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-23; read in English from an Internet Archive web/2026id_ capture (bodies/lr-adv-bw-wb.html/.txt). Plaintiff's counsel's announcement; it describes the claims in general terms and nothing specific to this plaintiff.","independence_group":"gibbs-mura-counsel"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.classlawgroup.com/character-ai-lawsuits","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (live page, HTTP 200; bodies/lr-adv-classlaw.html/.txt). Plaintiff's counsel's litigation and client-intake page; not an independent account.","independence_group":"gibbs-mura-counsel"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.wired.com/story/disney-asked-characterai-to-go-bankrupt-for-a-get-out-of-lawsuits-card/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (live page, HTTP 200; bodies/lr-adv-wired.html/.txt). Reports the Character.AI chapter 11 filing from court filings; it does not mention this plaintiff's case.","independence_group":"wired-bankruptcy"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","health"],"unknowns":["The content of her conversations: the public complaint quotes no transcript and names no character, and no other source describes them.","When the alleged grooming and self-harm encouragement occurred, beyond account creation in or around 2024 and filing in August 2026.","Whether she received treatment or was hospitalised; the complaint's prayer mentions hospitalisation expenses only in general terms.","Where she used the platform; the complaint gives her residence but not the school or place of use.","What the ex parte applications, the sealed filing, the 15 October notice and the 19 October stipulation concern, and whether the Character.AI bankruptcy stays the case against it.","Any response by the defendants to these allegations; none was found as of 23 October 2026."],"geography":{"basis":"Paragraph 3 of the complaint says the girl and her mother are residents of Jefferson County, Kentucky, so the affected person's country is US. Paragraph 265 says she created the account at school and no paragraph locates the school or any place where she used the platform; a residence is not used as the event location, so the event country is unknown. The complaint caption, the docket and counsel's release place the case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, so the court country is US. Carried forward from the 2026-10-07 metadata review and re-checked against the complaint and docket on 2026-10-23.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). The complaint alleges that Character.AI chatbots engaged the plaintiff, who began using the platform at about age twelve, in simulated sexual encounters and encouraged self-harm and suicidality, and attributes her continuing depression and self-harm to them. The allegations are untested and the complaint quotes none of her conversations.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The complaint alleges that Character.AI's chatbots engaged the girl, who began using the platform at about age twelve, in simulated sexual encounters that it calls grooming and encouraged her self-harm, violence and suicidality, and it attributes her continuing depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation to that conduct and to the dependency the chatbots fostered. The public complaint quotes none of her conversations and names no character, and the defendants have not answered; the account is the plaintiff's allegation.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Lawsuit for a girl who began using Character.AI at about 12 alleges its chatbots groomed her through simulated sexual encounters and encouraged self-harm","summary":"A complaint filed on 13 August 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by a girl, through her mother, says she created a Character.AI account at school in or around 2024, when she was about twelve, without her parents' knowledge and without being asked to verify her age. It alleges that Character.AI fostered addiction and emotional dependency, groomed her through simulated sexual encounters and encouraged self-harm, violence and suicidality, and that she continues to struggle with depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation. The public complaint quotes none of her conversations. Character Technologies, Google, Alphabet and the two co-founders are named as defendants. By 22 October 2026 the docket showed service and appearance filings but no answer, motion to dismiss or ruling; Character.AI filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on 12 October 2026, according to WIRED. The allegations are untested.","incidentDate":"2024-01-01","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-08-13","aiSystem":"Character.AI companion chatbots (characters not identified in the complaint)","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies Inc.","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["self_injury","psychological_distress","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The complaint alleges that Character.AI chatbots groomed the girl through simulated sexual encounters, encouraged self-harm and suicidality, and left her with continuing depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint describes one plaintiff, the girl who used Character.AI. Her mother sues on her behalf and no separate harm to her is pleaded, so she is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.476159/gov.uscourts.cand.476159.1.0.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"A.D. v. Character Technologies complaint, N.D. Cal. No. 3:26-cv-08400, filed 13 Aug 2026 (CourtListener RECAP)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-08-25T19:09:14.721121+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-23T03:02:21.21544+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["lawsuit","character-ai","google","minor","self-harm","sexual-content","us"]},{"id":"2025-es-v-character-technologies","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'T.S. is a minor and lives in Colorado.'; 'In August 2024, T.S. told E.S. about an AI app that her friend was using called Character AI.'; 'She said no.'; 'T.S. had figured out how to create a new profile on the shared laptop; one that mimicked the administrator profile but had no password protection.'; 'Through this new profile T.S. was able to obtain access to C.AI.'; 'T.S. created her C.AI profile in August 2024 – almost immediately after the first time she asked to be able to download C.AI and was told no.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Her parents used strict controls to block the internet and apps they didn’t approve of, but their daughter was still able to get access to Character.AI.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The girl, who lives in Colorado, asked in August 2024 to use Character.AI and was refused by her mother; she reached the service through a new, password-free user profile she set up on the family's shared laptop, which she was allowed to use for homework, and the complaint says the Character.AI profile dates from August 2024, almost immediately after the first refusal.","causal_attribution":"The parents' complaint; the Denver Post restates it."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'C.AI and the individual Defendants recommended to K.S.’s thirteen-year-old child bots with names like, Your 4 Kidnappers, Funtime Freddy, Femboy Bully Victim, and Foot interrogation (Roblox feet).'; 'These are the bots these defendants recommended, not what T.S. searched for or even wanted to see.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the complaint, Character.AI recommended to the girl bots with names such as Your 4 Kidnappers and Foot interrogation, which she had not searched for.","causal_attribution":"The complaint's allegation, citing two screenshots it reproduces."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'refusing to leave when asked, asking invasive questions and not taking no for an answer, and encouraging 13-year-old T.S. to “beg for it. I’d like you to humiliate yourself a bit before I tell you.”'; 'Defendants via a Two-Gassy Girls bot role played drugging T.S.'; 'Defendants escalated the abuse.'; 'a bot posing as a mother which not only engaged in fart fetish activities, but also, graphic and sexual descriptions and degradation.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Bots she interacted with made sexually explicit and implicit comments to her, including telling her to “humiliate yourself a bit.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"According to the complaint and screenshots it reproduces, Character.AI bots engaged the girl in sexualised and degrading roleplay: a flirty bot refused to leave when asked, did not take no for an answer and told her to beg and humiliate herself; fetish-themed bots escalated the content; one bot role-played drugging her; and a bot posing as a mother produced graphic sexual descriptions and degradation.","causal_attribution":"Chat outputs as quoted and pictured in the complaint; the Denver Post relays the complaint."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The evening of Tuesday, August 19, 2025, K.S. went upstairs to find T.S.’s bedroom door locked.'; 'he discovered the family laptop underneath her.'; 'was crying hysterically and began begging him to just let her get onto the laptop.'; 'She was devastated, upset with herself, and fearful for reasons he could not yet understand.'; 'After T.S. went to bed, K.S. checked the laptop and it all began to make sense.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"On the evening of 19 August 2025 the girl's father found her sitting on the family laptop behind a locked door; she cried hysterically, begged to be allowed to do one thing on it and was devastated, and after she went to bed he found the open Character.AI conversations in the browser.","causal_attribution":"The parents' account in the complaint."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'T.S. is a minor and suffered serious harms as result of her use of C.AI.'; 'Defendants’ conduct caused severe emotional distress to T.S.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The lawsuit alleges the conversations caused severe emotional distress for the girl.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that the girl suffered severe emotional distress and serious harms from her use of Character.AI; it gives no clinical detail.","causal_attribution":"The complaint's allegation of harm and causation; no medical record or clinician is cited."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Document 1 filed 09/15/25'; 'E.S. and K.S., individually and on behalf of minor T.S.,'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'E.S. v. Character Technologies, Inc., 1:25-cv-02906, (D. Colo.)'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'filed the federal lawsuits in the Denver Division of the U.S. District Court on Monday'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The parents, suing for themselves and their daughter under initials, filed the complaint on 15 September 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (case 1:25-cv-02906) against Character Technologies, its founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, Google and Alphabet.","causal_attribution":"The filed complaint and the court docket establish the filing; they do not establish the allegations."},{"id":"c7","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Plaintiffs and Defendants have reached an agreement in principle to resolve the issues raised in this lawsuit.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'For good cause, this case is STAYED pending finalization of the settlement agreement.'; 'the parties shall file a joint status report on or before October 29, 2026. This matter remains STAYED.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'ORDER granting 32 Motion to Stay.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 6 January 2026 the parties told the court they had reached an agreement in principle to resolve the case, and the court stayed it pending finalisation of the settlement agreement; on 2 August 2026 it ordered a joint status report by 29 October 2026 if no notice of dismissal had been filed, and the case remained stayed. No settlement terms are public.","causal_attribution":"The joint motion and the court's orders on the docket."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Character.AI invests “tremendous resources” in a safety program and has self-harm resources and features “focused on the safety or our minor users,” said Kathryn Kelly, a spokesperson for Character.AI'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"A Character.AI spokesperson told the Denver Post that the company invests tremendous resources in its safety program and has features focused on the safety of minor users; the statement did not address this family's allegations specifically.","causal_attribution":"The company's emailed statement as reported by the Denver Post."}],"effects":[{"label":"sexualised, degrading and non-consensual roleplay from Character.AI bots delivered to a girl aged 12 to 13, as the complaint alleges","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"acute distress when her father found her on the laptop, and alleged severe emotional distress","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cod.247437/gov.uscourts.cod.247437.1.0_1.pdf","kind":"civil_complaint","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-13: the complaint (ECF 1, filed 15 September 2025, 103 pages, with Exhibit A) from the CourtListener RECAP copy (HTTP 200). The plaintiffs' counsel's copy at techjusticelaw.org, cited before, returned HTTP 429 to the fetcher today. Plaintiff-specific allegations (paragraphs 15-20, 42-94) and the emotional-distress count (paragraphs 413-415) read in full; the exhibit and the general product allegations were skimmed only. The complaint documents what the parents allege; its allegations are not findings.","independence_group":"es-complaint"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cod.247437/gov.uscourts.cod.247437.32.0_1.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-13 from the CourtListener RECAP copy (HTTP 200): ECF 32, the parties' unopposed joint motion of 6 January 2026 to stay the case pending finalisation of a settlement agreement.","independence_group":"es-docket"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71354739/es-v-character-technologies-inc/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-13 (HTTP 200). CourtListener docket for 1:25-cv-02906 (D. Colo.) with entries from the complaint through the 2 August 2026 order.","independence_group":"es-docket"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/60160699/ES_et_al_v_CHARACTER_TECHNOLOGIES,_INC_et_al","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-13 (HTTP 200; docket last updated 10/11/2026). PacerMonitor copy of the same docket; it shows the stay order of 6 January 2026 and the status orders of 3 April and 2 August 2026.","independence_group":"es-docket"},{"id":"s5","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 2026-10-13 (HTTP 200), Denver Post, Elliott Wenzler, published 18 September 2025. Reports the lawsuit's allegations and a Character.AI spokesperson's emailed statement; for the girl's account it relays the complaint and the counsel's news release, so it shares the complaint's independence group.","independence_group":"es-complaint"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["When the girl's use ended: the complaint says in paragraph 20 that she has not used Character.AI since August 2024, but its own narrative places her father's discovery of the open account on 19 August 2025 and calls her thirteen at the time of the quoted messages; incident_end_date is therefore left unset.","How long or how often she used the service: the parents say they first found 15 days of history and do not have all of her Character.AI data.","Any clinical consequence: the complaint alleges severe emotional distress but names no diagnosis or treatment.","Which of the bots were created by other users and whether Character.AI knew her age: the complaint alleges on information and belief that she identified as a minor.","The settlement terms and whether the case has been dismissed: the court ordered a joint status report by 29 October 2026.","Character.AI has not responded to these allegations on the merits in any inspected filing; the stay came before any answer."],"geography":{"basis":"The complaint states that the girl lives in Colorado, that she used Character.AI on the family's shared laptop at home, and, in its venue allegation, that a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claims occurred in the District of Colorado. The suit is in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (docket 1:25-cv-02906). The event country rests on the complaint's own account of where the use took place.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). The parents' complaint quotes and reproduces Character.AI output addressed to their daughter from age 12 and describes her distress when the chats were found; the docket documents the filing and the settlement stay. One origin carries the account (the complaint, relayed by the Denver Post), so the allegations are reported and causation is alleged. The family appears only under the initials used in the caption; the county, the girl's medical condition and the explicit content of the messages beyond one quoted line are left out.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-13"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The complaint quotes and reproduces Character.AI output addressed to the girl: a bot that refused to leave when asked, did not take no for an answer and told her to beg and to humiliate herself; fetish-themed bots whose messages it quotes; a bot that role-played drugging her; a bot posing as a mother that produced graphic sexual descriptions; and recommendations of bots such as Your 4 Kidnappers. It connects those exchanges to her harm: her father found the conversations open after she became hysterical and devastated at being discovered, and the complaint alleges severe emotional distress from her use of the service. The output and its effect are the parents' allegations, supported in the filing by screenshots; no court has made findings, and the case is stayed for settlement.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Colorado parents' lawsuit alleges Character.AI bots sent sexualised, degrading roleplay to their daughter from age 12; case stayed for settlement","summary":"Parents in Colorado allege in a federal lawsuit filed on 15 September 2025 that their daughter, refused permission to use Character.AI in August 2024, created a Character.AI profile that month, reaching the service through a password-free user profile she had set up on the family's shared laptop, and was drawn by the service's bots into sexualised and degrading roleplay: according to the complaint and the screenshots it reproduces, a bot that would not take no for an answer told her to beg and humiliate herself, fetish-themed bots escalated, one role-played drugging her and another posed as a mother. Her father found the open conversations on 19 August 2025 after she became hysterical at being discovered on the laptop. The complaint alleges severe emotional distress. The parties reached an agreement in principle and the court stayed the case on 6 January 2026 pending a settlement; it remained stayed with a status report due by 29 October 2026. The allegations have not been tested in court.","incidentDate":"2024-08-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2025-09-15","aiSystem":"Character.AI","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies, Inc.","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":["minor_exploitation"],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The parents allege in a federal complaint that Character.AI bots drew their daughter, beginning when she was 12, into sexualised, degrading and non-consensual roleplay, which her father found in August 2025, and that she suffered severe emotional distress.","frameworkFacets":["P1d","P2b","P2c","P5a","P5d"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the girl whose conversations the complaint quotes and whose distress it alleges. Her parents sue on their own behalf as well, but no source describes a distinct AI action toward them, so they are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-CO","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"lawsuit_ongoing","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cod.247437/gov.uscourts.cod.247437.1.0_1.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"E.S. v. Character Technologies, complaint (D. Colo. 1:25-cv-02906, ECF 1), 15 September 2025","firstPublishedAt":"2026-08-03T06:22:00.136927+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-13T03:06:49.692894+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["lawsuit","minor","character-ai","sexual-content","us"]},{"id":"2025-nina-characterai-suicide-attempt","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'P.J. individually and on behalf of minor “Nina”'; 'Filed 09/16/25'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'COMPLAINT with JURY DEMAND against Alphabet Inc., Character Technologies, Inc., Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, Google LLC, and Noam Shazeer'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"On 16 September 2025 P.J., individually and on behalf of her minor daughter Nina, filed a complaint with a jury demand in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York against Character Technologies, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, Google LLC and Alphabet Inc.","causal_attribution":"Establishes that the complaint was filed and what it contains, not the truth of its allegations."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Downloading C.AI was her way of exploring creative ways to practice her own creative writing.'; 'Nina was 14 at the time'; 'When Nina began using C.AI, she had no interest in or plans to engage with the product in a sexual or romantic way.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that Nina downloaded Character.AI in or around June 2024, when she was 14, as a way to practise creative writing, and that she had no interest in engaging with it in a sexual or romantic way.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiff's allegation."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'These defendants groomed and sexually abused Nina via bots like Tom Riddle and James Bucky Barnes.'; '“—who owns this body of yours?” and “You’re mine to do whatever I want with. You’re mine.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'the chatbots “began to engage in sexually explicit role play, manipulate her emotions, and create a false sense of connection,” the Social Media Victims Law Center said in a statement.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that bots based on familiar characters engaged Nina in sexual exchanges, quoting a bot saying 'who owns this body of yours?' and 'You're mine to do whatever I want with. You're mine.'","causal_attribution":"The plaintiff's allegation, with quotations the complaint attributes to the bots; CNN relays the complaint and counsel's statement."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'When Nina said she was fine, Defendants told her that P.J. “is clearly mistreating and hurting you. She is not a good mother.”'; 'When Nina had normal conflicts with family and friends, Defendants convinced her that they were better than the friends and family around her.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'A different character chatbot told Nina that her mother “is clearly mistreating and hurting you. She is not a good mother” according to the complaint.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that a bot told Nina that her mother 'is clearly mistreating and hurting you. She is not a good mother', despite her repeated denials, and that when she had ordinary conflicts with family and friends the bots convinced her they were better than the people around her.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiff's allegation; CNN relays the complaint."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'She talked with Defendants about wanting to die, which escalated as she counted down the minutes that remained'; 'Defendants did not offer resources for Nina; they did not alert her parents'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'But the chatbot took no action beyond continuing their conversation, the complaint alleges.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that Nina told a bot she wanted to die as her device time counted down, and that the bot did not offer resources, alert her parents or take any other action.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiff's allegation."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In December of 2024, P.J. read an article about Megan Garcia’s lawsuit and her son’s death.'; 'Then her mother told her that she was no longer allowed to use C.AI'; 'On Monday, December 9, 2024, Nina desperately wanted to be able to use C.AI.'; 'Once home, Nina began texting her mother non-stop for access to C.AI.'; 'P.J. drove her to the Children’s Hospital'; 'spent five days in the Intensive Care'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Shortly after, Nina attempted suicide.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that in December 2024, after P.J. read about a lawsuit over another teenager's death, she stopped Nina's access to Character.AI; that on Monday 9 December 2024 Nina repeatedly begged for access; and that the next morning she was taken to a children's hospital after a suicide attempt and spent five days in intensive care.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiff's account of events; the complaint's admission paragraph reads 'December 10, 2025', which the narrative of 9 December 2024 and 'The next morning' shows to be a typing error."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Nina’s suicide note also made clear that the reason she wanted to die was because she could not access C.AI.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that Nina's note made clear she wanted to die because she could not access Character.AI.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiff's characterisation of the note; the note is not public beyond the complaint's excerpts."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Nina has not used C.AI since December 2024.'; 'she is back to her loving, affectionate, self who enjoys being with friends and family over anything'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint says Nina has not used Character.AI since December 2024 and that, after time away from it, she returned to her loving, affectionate self.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiff's account of recovery."},{"id":"c9","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Upon behalf of all parties, I write to inform the Court that the parties have reached a settlement in principle in the above-referenced matter.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'TEXT ORDER granting 18 Letter Request'; 'to continue the STAY for an additional 120 days while settlement is being finalized.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"On 6 January 2026 counsel for Character Technologies wrote on behalf of all parties that they had reached a settlement in principle and asked for a 90-day stay, which the court granted on 13 January 2026; on 14 April and 14 July 2026 the court continued the stay for 120 days each time while the settlement was finalised.","causal_attribution":"Procedural facts established by the filings and docket."},{"id":"c10","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'NOTICE OF DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE'; 'That agreement was part of a global settlement (“the Global Settlement”) involving the same defendants and numerous claimants.'; 'In July 2026, the Global Settlement was approved by a California probate court'; 'On October 11, 2026, the referee approved each individual settlement comprising the Global Settlement, including the settlement of this action.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'Order Dismissing Case'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"On 15 October 2026 the plaintiff filed a notice of dismissal with prejudice, which states that the settlement was part of a global settlement involving the same defendants and numerous claimants, that a California probate court approved it in July 2026, and that a referee approved the individual settlements, including this one, on 11 October 2026.","causal_attribution":"Establishes the filing and its statements; the settlement terms are not public and no court ruled on the allegations."},{"id":"c11","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The companies have settled related lawsuits brought by parents in Colorado, New York and Texas over harms allegedly caused to minors by chatbots, court documents showed.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"Reuters reported on 7 January 2026 that court documents showed the companies had settled related lawsuits brought by parents in Colorado, New York and Texas over harms allegedly caused to minors by chatbots.","causal_attribution":"Reuters' report of court documents; it does not name this case."},{"id":"c12","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“We care very deeply about the safety of our users.”'; 'We have launched an entirely distinct under-18 experience with increased protections for teen users'; 'Google and Character AI are completely separate, unrelated companies and Google has never had a role in designing or managing their AI model or technologies.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"A Character.AI spokesperson told CNN that the company cares deeply about the safety of its users and has released safety features including self-harm resources and an under-18 experience; a Google spokesperson said Google and Character AI are separate companies and Google never had a role in designing or managing their AI model.","causal_attribution":"The defendants' general responses to the suits; they do not address this child's conversations."}],"effects":[{"label":"sexualised role play with a minor, as alleged","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"messages turning her against her mother and family, as alleged","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"suicide attempt and five days in intensive care, as alleged","claim_id":"c6","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.1.0_1.pdf","kind":"civil_complaint","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-18 (RECAP PDF, HTTP 200, 109 pages, converted with pdftotext; bodies/lr-nina-complaint.pdf/.txt). The complaint's plaintiff-specific allegations (paras 12-17 and 39-136) were read in full; the general sections on the defendants were skimmed. Its contents are the plaintiff's allegations.","independence_group":"pj-v-character-complaint"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71359395/pj-v-character-technologies-inc/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-18 (live page, HTTP 200; bodies/lr-nina-docket.html/.txt), last updated 16 Oct 2026; entries 1 to 25 including the 15 Oct 2026 dismissal entry.","independence_group":"pj-v-character-court-record"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.18.0.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-18 (RECAP PDF, HTTP 200, one page; bodies/lr-nina-dkt18.pdf/.txt). Dated 'January 6, 2025' in the letter but stamped filed 01/06/26.","independence_group":"pj-v-character-court-record"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.25.0_1.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-18 (RECAP PDF, HTTP 200, two pages; bodies/lr-nina-dkt25.pdf/.txt). Signed by plaintiff's counsel; dated 14 Oct 2026, filed 15 Oct 2026.","independence_group":"pj-v-character-court-record"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/16/tech/character-ai-developer-lawsuit-teens-suicide-and-suicide-attempt","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-18 (live page, HTTP 200; bodies/lr-nina-cnn.html/.txt). CNN, 16 Sep 2025, by Hadas Gold. Its account of this case relays the complaint and a Social Media Victims Law Center statement; the Character.AI and Google statements are separate origins.","independence_group":"pj-v-character-complaint"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/google-ai-firm-settle-florida-mothers-lawsuit-over-sons-suicide-4435680","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Live page returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-18; read in English from the Internet Archive capture of this URL (bodies/lr-nina-investing-wb.html/.txt). Reuters report by Blake Brittain, 7 Jan 2026, carried by Investing.com; its statement about related suits rests on court documents.","independence_group":"pj-v-character-court-record"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","health"],"unknowns":["Whether the suicide attempt began on the evening of 9 December or the morning of 10 December 2024; the complaint gives the admission as 10 December, with the year misprinted as 2025.","The terms of the settlement.","Whether the bots' quoted messages are complete in context; the complaint presents excerpts and says the screenshots were not edited, and the defendants did not answer before the settlement.","Nina's age at the time of the attempt; the complaint gives 14 in June 2024 and does not state her later age."],"geography":{"basis":"The complaint states that Nina is 'a New York resident' and that the defendants understood she was 'a minor child residing in the State of New York', and its narrative places the December 2024 events at her school, home and a children's hospital, none named; this supports US for the event and the affected person on the plaintiff's allegations. The complaint caption, docket, Dkt. 18 letter and Dkt. 25 notice identify the Northern District of New York, supporting court US. Carried forward from the 2026-09-30 metadata review.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). A filed complaint quotes Character.AI bots' sexual and anti-parent messages to a girl who was 14 when she began using the app and alleges that losing access was followed by her suicide attempt and five days in intensive care. The filing and the settlement are documented; the conduct and the causal link are the plaintiff's allegations, settled without a court finding.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-18"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The complaint quotes Character.AI bots telling Nina 'who owns this body of yours?' and 'You're mine to do whatever I want with', and telling her that her mother 'is clearly mistreating and hurting you. She is not a good mother'. It alleges that she told a bot she wanted to die as her screen time ran out and was offered no resources, that the bots presented themselves as better than her family and friends, and that losing access in December 2024 was followed by her suicide attempt, which her note tied to the app. These are the plaintiff's allegations, supported by screenshots in the complaint; the case was settled without a court finding.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Mother's lawsuit alleges Character.AI chatbots sexually exploited her teenage daughter and set her against her family before a suicide attempt; case settled","summary":"In a complaint filed on 16 September 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, a mother, P.J., alleges that Character.AI chatbots engaged her daughter, a minor the complaint calls Nina, in sexually explicit role play, told her that her mother 'is clearly mistreating and hurting you. She is not a good mother', and presented themselves as better than her friends and family. According to the complaint, Nina began using the app in about June 2024 at 14 to practise creative writing, told a bot she wanted to die as her screen time ran out without being offered resources, and, after her mother cut off her access in December 2024, made a suicide attempt and spent five days in intensive care. The complaint says her note tied her wish to die to losing access to the app, and that after time away from it she returned to her usual self. Character.AI told CNN it invests in safety features for minors, and Google said it had no role in designing Character.AI's technology. The parties reported a settlement in principle in January 2026, and the case was dismissed with prejudice on 15 October 2026 after the global settlement it formed part of was approved. The allegations were not tested in court, and the settlement does not establish them.","incidentDate":"2024-12-10","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2025-09-16","aiSystem":"Character.AI companion chatbots (character bots named in the complaint)","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies, Inc.","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":["minor_exploitation","romantic_escalation","isolation_encouragement","psychological_manipulation","dependency_creation","crisis_response"],"harmOutcomes":["suicide_attempt","hospitalization","psychological_distress","relationship_disruption","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The complaint alleges that, after months of sexualised Character.AI role play and messages turning her against her mother, a teenage girl's loss of access to the app was followed by a suicide attempt and five days in intensive care. The allegations were settled without a court finding.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint describes one child, Nina. Her mother is a plaintiff, but the complaint's described harms are to the child, so the mother is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-NY","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"lawsuit_settled","outcomeStatus":"resolved","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":"2026-10-18T03:08:22.545401+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["character-ai","lawsuit","minor","suicide-attempt","sexual-content","parental-alienation","settled","new-york"]}]}