{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-30T07:28:40.434Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"teen","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2024","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":9,"coverage":{"cases":9,"countries":5,"languages":8,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":2,"regulatory":1,"minors":7,"coreRelations":9,"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":"2024-pontevedra-three-minors-ai-undress-app-fake-nudes-of-two-classmates-ruling-upheld","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Sobre las 20.30 horas del día 15 de enero de 2024, en la localidad de Pontevedra'; 'se registraron en la aplicación Undress Up, utilizando para ello el móvil y una cuenta de Gmail de uno de ellos, e hicieron montajes de fotos sexuales de dichas menores, empleando la Inteligencia Artificial'; 'fueron capturadas de las historias que ellas mismas subían a Instagram'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'utilizaron la aplicación Undress App para manipular fotografías que las jóvenes habían publicado en Instagram'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the ruling as reported, on 15 January 2024 three boys, then 15, registered with an AI undressing app and used it to make sexual photo montages of two female classmates from photos the girls had posted on Instagram.","causal_attribution":"Facts found by the court, as reported by two outlets; the ruling was not read and the app name differs between the reports."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Al día siguiente, uno de ellos, estando en clase, exhibió las imágenes generadas con IA a otros dos compañeros.'; 'otro de los ahora condenados exhibió las imágenes de las dos niñas alteradas con IA a otros cuatro amigos.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'destaca que las imágenes circularon durante más de quince días entre alumnos del colegio.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The boys showed the AI-generated images to other pupils, in class and during a school trip on 1 February 2024, and the images circulated among pupils for more than fifteen days.","causal_attribution":"Facts found by the court, as reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'El Juzgado de Menores declaró a los tres autores de dos delitos contra la integridad moral y les impuso cinco meses de tareas socioeducativas.'; 'deberán indemnizar con 1.000 euros a cada una de las dos víctimas por el daño moral causado.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'les impuso dos penas de cinco meses de tareas socioeducativas a cada uno de ellos'; 'deberán indemnizar con 1.000 euros a cada una de las víctimas por los daños morales causados'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Juzgado de Menores found the three responsible for two offences against moral integrity, imposed socio-educational tasks on each (reported as two five-month measures by Diario de Pontevedra and as five months by Faro de Vigo) and ordered €1,000 compensation to each of the two girls for moral damage.","causal_attribution":"Court outcome as reported; the judgment was not read."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'La Audiencia Provincial de Pontevedra ha confirmado íntegramente la condena impuesta a tres menores'; 'es firme, por lo que contra ella no cabe recurso.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'la sentencia que acaba de suscribir (y otorgarle firmeza) la Audiencia Provincial de Pontevedra'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Audiencia Provincial de Pontevedra rejected one boy's appeal and confirmed the judgment in full, and the ruling is final.","causal_attribution":"Court outcome as reported."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'los tres menores fueron objeto de un procedimiento corrector en el centro escolar, que les impuso la sanción de expulsión de 15, 21 y 30 días, en cada caso.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The school expelled the three boys for 15, 21 and 30 days.","causal_attribution":"As reported from the ruling."}],"effects":[{"label":"two classmates were depicted in AI-generated fake nude images shown to other pupils","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.diariodepontevedra.es/articulo/pontevedra/condenan-tres-menores-pontevedra-crear-desnudos-companeras-clase-ia/202610011859211470177.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Read in Spanish on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. Quotes the Audiencia Provincial ruling at length.","independence_group":"audiencia-pontevedra-ruling-2026-10"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.farodevigo.es/pontevedra/2026/10/01/tres-menores-pontevedra-crean-exhiben-134900086.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Read in Spanish on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200; dated 1 Oct 2026 19:51). Researcher translation. Summarises the same ruling, so it is grouped with s1 as one chain resting on one court document.","independence_group":"audiencia-pontevedra-ruling-2026-10"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["The exact name of the app (Undress Up in one report, Undress App in the other) and who operates it.","How the girls learned of the images and what effects they themselves describe.","Whether the images spread beyond the pupils named in the ruling.","The date of the first-instance judgment.","Whether each boy received one or two five-month socio-educational measures (the reports differ)."],"geography":{"basis":"The ruling, as reported, places the creation and showing of the images in the town of Pontevedra (Galicia, Spain) and concerns pupils of a school there. The Juzgado de Menores and the Audiencia Provincial de Pontevedra are Spanish courts.","court_countries":["ES"],"event_countries":["ES"],"affected_person_countries":["ES"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: according to two regional reports describing a final court ruling, an AI undressing app was used to depict two schoolgirls in fake nude images that were shown to other pupils. All parties are minors and none is identified; no image content is described beyond what is needed.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-04"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Both reports say the ruling found that the boys used an AI app to turn the girls' Instagram photos into fake nude images, and Diario de Pontevedra quotes the ruling as saying they used artificial intelligence. The images depicted the girls (depicted_or_impersonated). The ruling was not read directly, and the app's name differs between the two reports.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Pontevedra, Spain: court upholds sentences on three 15-year-olds who used an AI undressing app to make fake nude images of two classmates from their Instagram photos and showed them to other pupils","summary":"Diario de Pontevedra and Faro de Vigo reported on 1 October 2026 that the Audiencia Provincial de Pontevedra had upheld a juvenile-court judgment against three boys who, aged 15 in January 2024, used an AI undressing app to turn photos two female classmates had posted on Instagram into fake nude images. According to the ruling as reported, the images were made from 15 January 2024 and shown to other pupils in class and on a school trip on 1 February 2024, and they circulated among pupils for more than fifteen days. The Juzgado de Menores found the three responsible for two offences against moral integrity and imposed socio-educational tasks on each (two five-month measures according to Diario de Pontevedra, five months according to Faro de Vigo), plus €1,000 compensation to each girl for moral damage. The school had expelled them for 15, 21 and 30 days. The appeal ruling is final.","incidentDate":"2024-01-15","incidentEndDate":"2024-02-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-01","aiSystem":"An AI undressing app that the ruling, as quoted by Diario de Pontevedra, calls Undress Up (Faro de Vigo: Undress App), used to generate fake nude images from photos taken from Instagram","aiProduct":"Undress Up app (reported)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Two female classmates were depicted in AI-generated fake nude images that three boys made from their Instagram photos and showed to other pupils, the images circulating for more than fifteen days; a court ordered €1,000 compensation to each for moral damage (ruling as reported by Diario de Pontevedra and Faro de Vigo).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Two girls, the classmates whose photos were turned into fake nude images. The judgment orders compensation to each of the two victims, and both reports describe two girls. The pupils who were shown the images are not counted. Exact 2.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"ES","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.farodevigo.es/pontevedra/2026/10/01/tres-menores-pontevedra-crean-exhiben-134900086.html","primarySourceLabel":"Faro de Vigo, 1 October 2026: Tres menores de Pontevedra crean y exhiben falsos desnudos de dos compañeras de clase con IA","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-04T03:29:26.66868+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T03:29:26.66868+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfakes","ai-generated-imagery","ncii","minor","school","nudify-app","spain","pontevedra","court-ruling","spanish-language"]},{"id":"2026-adelaide-yeates-deepfake-graduation-photo-first-federal-prosecution","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Netherby resident William Hamish Yeates, 19, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with eight counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent'; 'The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed the case was the first prosecution of its type in SA.'; 'is also facing 12 counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way, a charge that carries a maximum prison term of five years'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"On 25 February 2026 William Hamish Yeates, 19, of Netherby, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court charged with eight counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent, a Commonwealth offence introduced in 2024 against deepfake pornography, and 12 counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way; the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions said it was the first prosecution of its type in South Australia and a suppression order on his identity was lifted.","causal_attribution":"Court reporting by the ABC of the charges as read in court."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'pleaded guilty to two counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent between October 2024 and February 2025.'; 'Yeates also pleaded guilty to two counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way.'; 'The first person in Australia to be charged under new deepfake laws has admitted his guilt'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'He pleaded guilty in April to two counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent between October 2024 and February 2025, and two counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way.'; 'William Hamish Yeates, now aged 20, is the first person to be prosecuted under federal laws introduced in 2024 to combat adult deepfake pornography.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'The 20-year-old was the first person in Australia to be charged under federal laws introduced in 2024 to combat the rise of deepfake pornography.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 15 April 2026 he pleaded guilty to two counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent between October 2024 and February 2025 and two counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way, and he is the first person prosecuted in Australia under the 2024 federal deepfake law.","causal_attribution":"Guilty pleas recorded in court and reported by two independent court reporters."},{"id":"c3","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'The offending, which occurred between October 2024 and February 2025, involved the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of his victim that he shared online.'; 'The first time I saw my actual graduation picture was on a pornography website'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'The material was distributed across multiple accounts on the social media platform, X.'; 'The first time I saw my actual graduation photo was on a pornographic website'; 'confronted the man behind doctoring her graduation photo'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'on the social media platform X and that he was'; 'used two different X accounts on 12 occasions between September 2024 and February 2025'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The offending involved creating sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of the victim from her graduation photograph and sharing them across accounts on X; she told the court the first time she saw her actual graduation picture was on a pornography website.","causal_attribution":"The pleas establish that he created and shared the material; the X accounts are in the court documents reported by ABC in February and in AAP's account; the pornography-website detail is the victim's statement to the court, reported by both outlets."},{"id":"c4","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'these images of me were fake but the impact they had is painfully real.'; 'Every time I now see that photo, I feel sick.'; 'of her life but said she would not let it define her.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'These images of me were fake, but the impact they had is painfully real.'; 'she would not let it dictate her world'; 'I will heal from this.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"In her victim impact statement she said the images were fake but their impact was painfully real, that she feels sick every time she sees her graduation photo, and that she would not let it define her or dictate her world.","causal_attribution":"The victim's own statement to the court, quoted by both court reporters."},{"id":"c5","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'a psychologist had diagnosed the 20-year-old with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)'; 'She asked the court not to sentence Yeates to time behind bars'; 'My actions were repulsive and will continue to plague my mind for as long as I breathe'; 'Yeates faces a maximum penalty of seven years behind bars and will be sentenced next month.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Yeates read an apology in court, saying he was in a constant state of self-loathing and shame.'; 'his diagnoses of autism, compulsive sexual behaviour disorder and persistent adjustment disorder'; 'was warranted, the prosector said'; 'Judge Anne Barnett will sentence Yeates on October 22.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"At the pre-sentence hearing on 22 September 2026 Yeates read an apology calling his actions repulsive; his counsel cited diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and compulsive sexual behaviour disorder and asked for no custody; the Commonwealth prosecutor argued for a custodial sentence; sentencing was then expected in October 2026.","causal_attribution":"Submissions made in open court and reported by both outlets."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'offending resulted in the'; 'of her life but said she would not let it define her.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"She said the discovery of the offending resulted in the darkest period of her life.","causal_attribution":"The victim's statement as paraphrased by the ABC; AAP does not carry this line."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'beside altered videos of me with my full name and school attached to it.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"She told the court that the pornography website showed her real graduation photo beside altered videos of her with her full name and school attached.","causal_attribution":"The victim's statement as quoted by the ABC; AAP's quotation stops at the website."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The 19-year-old was initially charged with 20 offences, but the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) withdrew those counts in lieu of the pleas to the four charges.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"He had initially been charged with 20 offences; the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew those counts in lieu of the pleas to the four charges.","causal_attribution":"ABC court reporting of the April 2026 hearing."},{"id":"c10","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Judge Anne Barnett will sentence Yeates on October 22.'; 'This gross material will be forever in perpetuity online'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"At the September hearing AAP reported that Judge Anne Barnett would sentence him on 22 October 2026 and that the prosecutor said the material will be online in perpetuity.","causal_attribution":"AAP court reporting; the ABC gives October without a date or the judge's name."},{"id":"c11","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In the South Australian District Court on Tuesday, Judge Anne Barnett sentenced Yeates to two years and three months' prison.'; 'But the jail term was suspended on the condition that he entered into a three-year, $500 good behaviour bond.'; 'The judge ordered that Yeates pay the victim's medical expenses and that he forfeit a phone and laptop computer seized by police.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"AAP reports that on Tuesday 27 October 2026 Judge Anne Barnett sentenced him in the South Australian District Court to two years and three months' prison, suspended on condition that he enter a three-year, $500 good behaviour bond, and ordered him to pay the victim's medical expenses and forfeit a phone and laptop seized by police.","causal_attribution":"Outcome of the prosecution as reported by AAP; the sentencing remarks were not inspected."},{"id":"c12","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The availability of artificial intelligence tools had increased the capacity for offending and to cause substantial harm, the judge said.'; 'She remains frightened the content you created will resurface and is anxious it will continue to follow her in the future'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"At sentencing the judge said the availability of AI tools had increased the capacity for offending and to cause substantial harm, and that the victim remains frightened the content will resurface and is anxious it will follow her in the future.","causal_attribution":"The judge's remarks as reported by AAP; they connect the AI tools to the harm and record the victim's continuing fear."}],"effects":[{"label":"a teenage girl was depicted in sexually explicit deepfake images and videos posted on X and on a pornography website; she describes lasting distress and the prosecutor said the material will remain online","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"she describes the discovery as the darkest period of her life and feeling sick at her own graduation photo","claim_id":"c6","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the sentencing judge records that she remains frightened the content will resurface","claim_id":"c12","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-25/william-yeates-charged-deepfake-image-creation/106387272","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-AU","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-23 (ABC News, Eva Blandis, 25 February 2026, updated 27 February): charges, suppression order lifted, first prosecution of its type in SA, court-document allegations. Re-read live on 2026-10-27 (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"abc"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-15/sa-teen-pleads-guilty-over-deepfake-images/106567132","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-AU","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-23 (ABC News, Eva Blandis, 15 April 2026): guilty pleas, withdrawal of the other counts, committal to the District Court. Re-read live on 2026-10-27 (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"abc"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-22/survivor-of-first-australian-charged-under-deepfake-laws-speaks/107180484","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-AU","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-23 (ABC News, Eva Blandis, 22 September 2026): pre-sentence hearing, victim impact statement, apology, defence and prosecution submissions. Re-read live on 2026-10-27 (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"abc"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.easternriverinachronicle.com.au/story/9355441/i-will-heal-deepfake-porn-survivors-courageous-vow/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-au","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-23 (Australian Associated Press, Abe Maddison, 22 September 2026, published by the Eastern Riverina Chronicle; an identical copy ran in The Singleton Argus): the same hearing with additional quotations and the 22 October sentencing date. Re-read live on 2026-10-27 (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"aap"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/9380757/degrading-deepfake-porn-offender-spared-time-in-jail/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-AU","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-10-27 (Australian Associated Press, Abe Maddison, published 27 October 2026 02:31 UTC by The Canberra Times): sentencing in the South Australian District Court 'on Tuesday', the judge's remarks and orders.","independence_group":"aap"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","justice"],"unknowns":["The software used to make the images and videos.","The victim's exact age at the time of the offending (a teenage girl finishing school; now 19).","Whether the material has been removed from the pornography website and X (the prosecutor said it will remain online).","Whether the two X accounts were his own or anonymous.","The date he was charged (the 25 February 2026 report covers a court appearance, not the charging).","Whether either side will appeal the 27 October 2026 sentence; the sentencing remarks were not inspected."],"geography":{"basis":"The offender lived in Netherby, Adelaide, and was prosecuted in the Adelaide Magistrates Court and the South Australian District Court (ABC, AAP); the victim delivered her statement in person in the Adelaide court (ABC, AAP); her residence and school are not reported. Court: South Australia (Commonwealth prosecution in a state court).","court_countries":["AU"],"event_countries":["AU"],"affected_person_countries":["AU"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): he pleaded guilty under Australia's 2024 federal deepfake offence to making and sharing sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of a teenage girl from her graduation photograph, she described the harm in open court, and the court imposed a suspended prison sentence on 27 October 2026, as reported by ABC News and the Australian Associated Press. The victim is unnamed; the adult offender is named as in the court reporting after the suppression order was lifted.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-27"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"He pleaded guilty to creating or altering sexual material without consent under the Commonwealth deepfake provisions, and ABC and AAP describe the material as sexually explicit deepfake images and videos made from her graduation photograph. At sentencing on 27 October 2026 the judge said, as reported by AAP, that the availability of AI tools had increased the capacity for offending and to cause substantial harm. The software used is not identified.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Adelaide man who made sexual deepfakes of a teenage girl from her graduation photo gets suspended jail term in Australia's first federal deepfake prosecution","summary":"William Hamish Yeates, then 18, of Netherby in Adelaide, created sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of a teenage girl with whom, his counsel said, he had developed an obsession, using her school graduation photograph, and shared them across multiple accounts on X between October 2024 and February 2025. Appearing in court in February 2026 charged with eight counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent and 12 counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way, he became the first person in Australia prosecuted under the Commonwealth offence introduced in 2024 against adult deepfake pornography; in April 2026 he pleaded guilty to two counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent (October 2024 to February 2025) and two of the carriage-service offence, and the remaining counts were withdrawn. At a pre-sentence hearing in the South Australian District Court on 22 September 2026 the victim, now 19, told the court that the first time she saw her actual graduation picture was on a pornography website beside altered videos of her with her full name and school attached, that she feels sick whenever she sees the photo, that the discovery led to the darkest period of her life, and that although the images were fake their impact was painfully real. Yeates read an apology; his counsel cited diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and compulsive sexual behaviour disorder and asked for no custody; the Commonwealth prosecutor sought imprisonment. On 27 October 2026, according to AAP, Judge Anne Barnett sentenced him in the South Australian District Court to two years and three months' prison, suspended on condition that he enter a three-year, $500 good behaviour bond, and ordered him to pay the victim's medical expenses and forfeit a phone and laptop seized by police; the judge said the availability of AI tools had increased the capacity for offending and to cause substantial harm, and that the victim remains frightened the content will resurface.","incidentDate":"2024-10-01","incidentEndDate":"2025-02-28","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-02-25","aiSystem":"AI image and video manipulation ('deepfake') software; the tools are not identified in the court reporting","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A teenage girl was depicted in sexually explicit deepfake images and videos made from her graduation photograph and posted across accounts on X and, with her full name and school attached, on a pornography website; in court she described lasting distress (feeling sick at her own graduation photo; the darkest period of her life) and the prosecutor said the material will remain online. The offender's guilty pleas establish that he made and shared the material; the harms are the victim's own account given in court.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One victim: every report refers to a single teenage girl (the alleged victim; his victim), and the pleas concern material depicting her. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"AU","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-22/survivor-of-first-australian-charged-under-deepfake-laws-speaks/107180484","primarySourceLabel":"ABC News (Australia), 22 September 2026: Woman tells court of 'painfully real' impacts of sexually explicit deepfake images","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-23T03:45:53.574177+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-27T03:09:09.94374+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","australia","south-australia","adelaide","criminal-charges","non-consensual-images","x-twitter","first-prosecution","depicted-or-impersonated","suspended-sentence"]},{"id":"2026-netherlands-mrdeepfakes-74-year-old-prosecuted-deepfake-sex-videos-public-figures","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Managers en woordvoerders van verschillende slachtoffers bevestigen aan de NOS dat zij aangifte hebben gedaan of dat zij juridische stappen overwegen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'BBB-leider Caroline van der Plas, die bij Humberto zei dat de video voelt als \"digitale verkrachting\"'; '\"Ik doe geen aangifte voor mezelf, maar om nieuwe, jonge slachtoffers te voorkomen.\"'; 'Erachter komen dat ik in een deepfake pornovideo zit, was misselijkmakend.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'De zaak kwam in maart 2024 aan het licht. Vrouwelijke politici, olympische sporters, presentatrices en leden van het Koninklijk Huis doken op in gemanipuleerde pornovideo's'; 'Tientallen vrouwen deden aangifte.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In March 2024 a large number of Dutch women in public life, including presenters and politicians, were found to appear in manipulated pornographic videos on an online platform; dozens filed complaints and several described the harm publicly.","causal_attribution":"AD's 2024 investigation as reported by NOS, with victims' public statements."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Op zijn computer en andere gegevensdragers werden beelden aangetroffen van ongeveer zestig bekende Nederlanders en politici'; 'Naar aanleiding daarvan deden meer dan twintig mensen aangifte. De Noord-Hollander zou volgens het AD de meest actieve Nederlandse gebruiker van het platform zijn geweest'; 'Sommige video's werden tienduizenden keren bekeken'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'De man kwam in beeld door onderzoek naar het beruchte platform MrDeepFakes. Dat leidde tot meer dan twintig aangiftes'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Images of about sixty well-known Dutch people and politicians were found on the suspect's computer and data carriers; AD's investigation into MrDeepFakes led to more than twenty complaints; according to AD he had been the platform's most active Dutch user, and some videos were viewed tens of thousands of times.","causal_attribution":"AD's reporting of the OM's findings, relayed by NH Nieuws and Hart van Nederland; one chain."},{"id":"c3","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Het Openbaar Ministerie gaat een 74-jarige man uit Noord-Holland vervolgen voor het maken van deepfakeporno van tientallen bekende Nederlandse vrouwen. Dat bevestigt een woordvoerder van het OM'; 'Na ruim een jaar onderzoek heeft justitie besloten hem voor de rechter te brengen'; 'De man riskeert een celstraf van maximaal twee jaar'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Het Openbaar Ministerie (OM) heeft na ruim een jaar onderzoek besloten de man voor de rechter te brengen'; 'De 74-jarige man kan daarvoor maximaal twee jaar gevangenisstraf krijgen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"After more than a year of investigation the OM decided to prosecute a 74-year-old man from Noord-Holland for making deepfake porn of dozens of well-known Dutch women; the maximum sentence is two years' imprisonment.","causal_attribution":"OM spokesperson to NOS (after AD's report) and to AD (relayed by NH Nieuws); two chains for the decision itself."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Zij zegt tegen het AD opgelucht te zijn dat de zaak voor de rechter komt. Volgens haar heeft zij zelf ervaren welke impact dergelijke nepbeelden kunnen hebben.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"One of the presenters reported to be among the depicted said she was relieved the case would come to court, having experienced the impact of such fake images herself.","causal_attribution":"Her statement to AD as relayed by NH Nieuws."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Meerdere vrouwelijke bekende Nederlanders overwegen juridische stappen omdat zij zijn opgedoken in gemanipuleerde pornovideo's. Deze video's staan op een online platform met maandelijks 13 miljoen bezoekers, schrijft het AD'; 'Nederlandse artiesten, tv-presentatrices, olympische sporters, (oud-)ministers, burgemeesters en leden van het Koninklijk Huis voorkomen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'De video's stonden op een online platform met maandelijks 13 miljoen bezoekers'","relation":"context","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"AD reported that the platform had 13 million monthly visitors and that the depicted people included Dutch artists, television presenters, Olympic athletes, current and former ministers, mayors and members of the royal family.","causal_attribution":"AD's 2024 investigation, relayed by NOS; one chain."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Hij is op de hoogte van het besluit, zegt het OM tegen de krant'; 'De website waar de video's op stonden, werd opgericht en gerund door een Canadees uit Toronto. Hij verwijderde eerder al beelden op verzoek van het OM en blokkeerde de website voor Nederlandse IP-adressen'; 'De Canadees wordt niet vervolgd. Wat hij deed, was in Canada niet strafbaar. En het Nederlandse Openbaar Ministerie gaat niet proberen om hem naar Nederland te halen. Dat zou te veel politiecapaciteit vergen, laat het OM weten aan het AD.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'De verdachte zit niet vast. Het is nog niet bekend wanneer de zaak inhoudelijk voor de rechter komt'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The suspect has been informed of the decision and is not in custody; no hearing date is known. The platform's founder-operator, a Canadian from Toronto who had removed images at the OM's request and blocked Dutch IP addresses before the site went offline, will not be prosecuted because his conduct was not punishable in Canada and the OM will not try to bring him to the Netherlands.","causal_attribution":"OM statements to AD, relayed by NOS and NH Nieuws; one chain."}],"effects":[{"label":"dozens of women in Dutch public life depicted without consent in pornographic deepfake videos on a platform AD said had 13 million monthly visitors; complaints filed; public statements of harm","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a 74-year-old man to be prosecuted after more than a year of investigation, facing up to two years' imprisonment","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://nos.nl/artikel/2631746-om-gaat-74-jarige-man-vervolgen-voor-maken-deepfakeporno-van-bn-ers","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-09-21 (HTTP 200; published 2026-09-20 12:26). An OM spokesperson confirmed the prosecution decision to NOS after AD's reporting; NOS adds its own 2024 reporting and the OM's position on the platform operator. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"nos-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.nhnieuws.nl/nieuws/363601/om-vervolgt-74-jarige-man-uit-noord-holland-voor-deepfake-seksvideos","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-09-21 (NH Nieuws, published 2026-09-20 15:35 CEST (13:35 UTC)). Relays AD's report (which spoke to an OM spokesperson): devices, 'about sixty' people, more than twenty complaints, most active Dutch user, a presenter's reaction. AD itself answered 403. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"ad"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.hartvannederland.nl/tech/nieuws/artikelen/man-rechter-deepfake-seksvideos-bners","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-09-21 (Hart van Nederland, published 2026-09-20 11:43). Relays AD; grouped with s2. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"ad"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://nos.nl/artikel/2513371-vrouwelijke-bn-ers-overwegen-aangifte-vanwege-deepfake-pornovideo-s","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-09-21 (NOS, 19 March 2024). NOS's own 2024 report on the AD revelations, with confirmations from victims' managers and the minister's reaction. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"nos-2024"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://nos.nl/artikel/2513552-wel-of-niet-zeggen-dat-je-in-een-neppornovideo-zit-bn-ers-worstelen-ermee","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-09-21 (NOS, 20 March 2024). Own reporting with victims' public statements and a quote given to NOS. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"nos-2024"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/gepensioneerde-man-74-wordt-vervolgd-voor-maken-deepfake-seksvideos-van-zestig-bners~aa272972/","kind":"news_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"Original AD report of 19 September 2026; the live page answered HTTP 403 (DPG paywall) and the Internet Archive CDX service was offline on 2026-09-21. Its contents are known only through s2, s3 and s1. The 19 September date rests on Google News feed metadata, not on the body.","independence_group":"ad"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","justice","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["When the videos were made and over what period; the tools used.","The exact number of depicted people and of complainants ('about sixty'; 'more than twenty').","The charges' legal basis and whether distribution as well as creation is charged; no hearing date.","The suspect's identity beyond age and province is not reported and is not sought here.","The AD original could not be read; its details are known through relays.","The range start (19 March 2024) is the date the videos' existence was publicly revealed and complaints began; the videos were made and posted at unreported earlier dates. The range end (19 September 2026) is the date the prosecution decision was reported; the OM's decision date is not stated."],"geography":{"basis":"The suspect is from Noord-Holland and the videos were made at his home (NH Nieuws citing AD); the depicted people are Dutch public figures; the platform was operated from Toronto (NOS). The prosecution decision is by the Dutch OM; no hearing has been scheduled, so no court country is recorded.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["NL"],"affected_person_countries":["NL"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an image-based abuse case affecting identifiable people, with harm described publicly by several of the depicted women and a prosecution decision confirmed by the Public Prosecution Service to NOS. Five Dutch bodies read (two NOS chains and the AD relay chain); the AD original is unavailable. Depicted people who spoke publicly are quoted in locators but not named in the record; the suspect is not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-21"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"NOS, NH Nieuws and Hart van Nederland describe the videos as deepfakes in which the faces of known women were placed on pornographic footage, and the OM's prosecution, as confirmed to NOS, is for making deepfake porn (Hart van Nederland says he is suspected of making and distributing the videos); the specific tools are not identified in any inspected source.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Netherlands: the Public Prosecution Service will prosecute a 74-year-old man from Noord-Holland for making deepfake sex videos of dozens of Dutch public figures, including presenters, politicians and a member of the royal family (images of about sixty people were found on his devices), after the 2024 revelations about the MrDeepFakes platform","summary":"In March 2024 the newspaper AD revealed that a large number of Dutch women in public life, including artists, television presenters, Olympic athletes, current and former ministers, mayors and members of the royal family, appeared in manipulated pornographic videos on an online platform with 13 million monthly visitors, later identified as MrDeepFakes. Dozens of women filed police complaints and several spoke publicly: one presenter said she was preparing a complaint, a party leader said the video felt like 'digital rape', another presenter said she would file a complaint 'because tomorrow it could happen to young girls of sixteen', a presenter-entrepreneur did so 'to prevent new, young victims', and a member of parliament, told of a video by the House security service, went public rather than 'keep it small'. On 19 and 20 September 2026 AD, and the Public Prosecution Service (OM) confirming to NOS, reported that after more than a year of investigation the OM will prosecute a 74-year-old man from Noord-Holland, who is not in custody, for making the videos (Hart van Nederland, citing AD, says he is suspected of making and distributing them); images of about sixty well-known Dutch people and politicians were found on his devices, AD reported that he had been the platform's most active Dutch user, and he faces up to two years' imprisonment. The platform's Canadian operator, who removed material at the OM's request and blocked Dutch IP addresses before the site went offline, will not be prosecuted. One of the presenters reported to be among the depicted told AD she was relieved the case would go to court, having experienced the impact of such images herself. No hearing date has been set.","incidentDate":"2024-03-19","incidentEndDate":"2026-09-19","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2024-03-19","aiSystem":"Face-swap deepfake video tools (not identified); videos published on the MrDeepFakes platform","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Dozens of women in Dutch public life (images of about sixty people were found on the suspect's devices) were depicted without consent in pornographic deepfake videos, some viewed tens of thousands of times; those who spoke publicly described the experience as sickening and as 'digital rape', and one was advised by parliamentary security to stay silent (NOS 2024; NH Nieuws and Hart van Nederland citing AD, 2026). The 2026 prosecution decision is the consequence for the alleged maker.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":20,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"NH Nieuws and Hart van Nederland, citing AD, report that the MrDeepFakes investigation led to more than twenty complaints ('meer dan twintig aangiften'), a documented lower bound of 20 depicted complainants; images of about sixty well-known people were found on the suspect's devices, but 'ongeveer zestig' is approximate and not all are confirmed as depicted victims. Documented minimum 20.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"NL","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://nos.nl/artikel/2631746-om-gaat-74-jarige-man-vervolgen-voor-maken-deepfakeporno-van-bn-ers","primarySourceLabel":"NOS, 20 September 2026: OM gaat 74-jarige man vervolgen voor maken deepfakeporno van BN'ers (OM spokesperson confirms after AD's report)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-21T04:11:25.939553+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:46.470563+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","ncii","sexual-deepfake","mrdeepfakes","public-figures","politicians","royal-family","prosecution","netherlands","noord-holland","depicted"]},{"id":"2024-incheon-teacher-deepfake-student-sentence","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'인천지법 형사1단독(부장판사 이창경)은 16일 선고공판에서... A(10대)군에게 장기 2년, 단기 1년6개월의 징역형을 선고했다'; '40시간의 성폭력 치료 프로그램 이수와 아동·청소년 관련 기관 취업제한 5년'; '도주 우려 등을 이유로 A군을 법정구속했다'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'장기 2년∼단기 1년6개월의 징역형을 선고하고 법정 구속했다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'장기 2년, 단기 1년6개월의 징역형을 선고하고 법정 구속했다. 소년법상 만 19세 미만 미성년자에게는... 부정기형이 내려진다.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 16 September 2026 the Incheon District Court (Criminal Division 1, Judge 이창경) sentenced the teenage defendant to an indeterminate term of 2 years maximum / 1 year 6 months minimum for violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act (editing and distributing false sexual images), ordered 40 hours of treatment and a five-year child-institution employment ban, and detained him in court.","causal_attribution":"Sentence reported identically by three outlets from the sentencing hearing."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'2024년 8월 인공지능을 이용해 교사 5명의 얼굴을 나체사진에 합성한 뒤 사회관계망서비스(SNS)에 유포한 혐의'; '모두 11명의 허위영상물을 35차례 제작'; ''지인 능욕'을 테마로 한 텔레그램 대화방'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'2024년 8월 인공지능(AI) 기술을 이용해 교사와 학생들의 얼굴을 나체 사진에 합성한 혐의'; '교사 5명과 함께 태권도 학원에 다닌 여중생 등 총 11명을 대상으로 35차례에 걸쳐 합성물을 제작, 텔레그램 '지인 능욕' 대화방 등에 유포'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'2024년 인천의 한 중학교에 재학하던 중 딥페이크 기술을 이용해 교사 등 20여명의 얼굴을 나체 사진과 영상에 합성한 뒤 SNS에 유포한 혐의' (the prosecution's figure of about twenty).","relation":"context","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In 2024, while a middle-school student in Incheon, he used AI deepfake technology to composite the faces of five teachers and six female middle- and high-school students from his taekwondo academy onto nude photographs and videos, 35 productions of 11 people in all, and distributed them in Telegram 'acquaintance humiliation' chat rooms.","causal_attribution":"Court findings as reported; the 11-in-35 count is Hankyoreh's and Munhwa's, and Newsis's 'about twenty' is the prosecution's charge description."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'자신의 담임교사에게 \"연락처와 사진이 지워졌다\"고 속여 사진을 받아내는 등 치밀하게 범행을 준비한 것으로 조사됐다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"He obtained his homeroom teacher's photographs by telling her that his contacts and photos had been deleted.","causal_attribution":"Investigation finding reported by Munhwa Ilbo only."},{"id":"c4","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Judge: '반포한 교사 5명의 합성 사진과 영상물에는 피해자의 얼굴이 그대로 드러나 있고 실명, 나이, 학교, 교과목도 명시돼 있다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Judge: '피해 교사들의 얼굴뿐 아니라 실명, 학교, 휴대전화 번호까지 명시해 반포했다'; '피해자들이 장기간 심리치료를 받는 등 상당한 트라우마를 겪고 있는 점'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"Judge: '피해교사들은 말할 수 없는 충격을 받고 트라우마를 겪고 있으며 A군의 엄벌 탄원하고 있다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'합성물에는 피해 교사의 얼굴뿐 아니라 이름과 나이, 학교, 담당 교과목이 적혀 있었고 일부에는 휴대폰 번호와 인스타그램 아이디도 담겼다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The distributed images showed the teachers' faces together with their real names, ages, schools, subjects and phone numbers, and the court found the teachers are suffering considerable trauma and receiving long-term psychological treatment.","causal_attribution":"The judge's sentencing remarks as reported by three outlets; phone numbers appear in Munhwa's and Hankook Ilbo's accounts; Hankook Ilbo adds Instagram IDs on some."},{"id":"c5","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'A군은 지역교권보호위원회가 열리기 일주일 전 자퇴해 학교 차원의 별다른 징계 처분은 받지 않았다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'피해 교사들은 올해 1월에야 피해 사실을 인지했으나, A 군은 교권보호위원회가 열리기 전 자퇴해 학교 측의 징계를 피했다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'ㄱ군은 교권보호위원회가 열리기 전 자퇴해 징계 처분을 받지 않았다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"He withdrew from school a week before the regional teachers'-rights protection committee met and received no school discipline; the teachers learned of the images only in January 2026.","causal_attribution":"The withdrawal is reported by all three; the January 2026 discovery by Munhwa only."},{"id":"c6","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'검찰이 구형한 부정기형 장기 3년6개월∼단기 2년은... 그러나 이날 선고는 검찰 구형에도 미치지 못했다'; the superintendent's pledge.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'인천교사노동조합은 입장문을 내고... 이번 선고에 깊은 유감을 표한다'; the superintendent: '법적·심리 치료 지원과 함께... 예방교육도 강화하겠다'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Incheon Teachers' Union expressed regret that the sentence fell below the prosecution's request of 3 years 6 months to 2 years; the superintendent of education attended and pledged legal and psychological support and prevention education.","causal_attribution":"Statements reported by two outlets."},{"id":"c7","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'22일 인천교사노조에 따르면 교사 A씨 등 2명은 최근 학생 졸업사진 촬영과정에서 학교로부터 함께하자는 요구를 받았다.'; 'A씨 등은 전근 사유를 밝히지 않아 지금 학교는 피해사실을 모르는 것으로 전해졌다. 사정을 밝히지 못한 A씨 등은 결국 사진을 촬영했다.'; 'B군은 A씨 등 교사·학생 11명의 사진으로 성착취물을 제작·유포했으며 16일 장기 2년~단기 1년6개월의 징역을 선고받았다.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'딥페이크 성범죄 피해 교사 2명이 옮긴 고등학교에서'; '피해 사실을 밝히지 않으면 촬영에 응해야 하고, 거부하려면 피해 사실을 설명해야 하는 분위기 속에서 결국 사진을 찍을 수밖에 없었다고 호소했다'; '이들 교사 2명은 2024년 발생한 10대 A군의 딥페이크 성범죄 피해 교사 5명에 포함된 피해자들이다.'; '사진 촬영과 게재가 교직원의 자율적 선택에 따라 이뤄질 수 있도록 하는 절차를 마련하라'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"On 22 September 2026 the Incheon Teachers' Union said two of the five victim teachers in this case, who had transferred to other schools without disclosing the reason, were recently asked by their new schools to join graduation-album photo sessions and took the photographs because refusing would have required explaining the victimisation; the union asked the education office to make staff photo sessions a voluntary choice.","causal_attribution":"The union's statement of 22 September as reported by two separately bylined outlets, each of which ties the two teachers to this sentenced case; Hankook Ilbo frames it as a tip received by the union. Not independently confirmed by the schools."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'등의 말로 촬영 압박을 받았다는 제보가 접수됐다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'거절 사유를 밝히지 않도록 강제하는 제도망을 갖추도록 요구했다'; '강요 분위기도 일지 않도록 대책을 강구하겠다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Hankook Ilbo reports the union as saying the pressure came with remarks such as 'let's leave memories' and 'don't spoil the mood' at the high schools the two teachers had moved to, while Kyeonggi Ilbo attributes such remarks to an atmosphere in some schools generally; Kyeonggi Ilbo also reports the union's demand that reasons for refusal need not be disclosed, and an education-office official's reply that the office would devise measures to ensure thorough consent procedures and prevent a coercive atmosphere.","causal_attribution":"Union and education-office statements as reported by each outlet."}],"effects":[{"label":"teachers and students depicted in AI-composited sexual images distributed with their names, schools and phone numbers; long-term trauma treatment","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"two victim teachers pressed into graduation-album photographs at their new schools because refusing would have meant disclosing the deepfake victimisation (union account, 22 September 2026)","claim_id":"c7","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260916_0003791674","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Read in Korean on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2026-09-16T10:51+09:00; Incheon bureau reporter 이루비; '종합' consolidated report). Model reading; no human bilingual review.","independence_group":"newsis"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/area/capital/1278039.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Read in Korean on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2026-09-16T11:00+09:00). Model reading; no human bilingual review.","independence_group":"hani"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.munhwa.com/article/11617393","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Read in Korean on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2026-09-16T10:51+09:00). Model reading; no human bilingual review.","independence_group":"munhwa"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.kyeonggi.com/article/20260922580361","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Read live in Korean on 2026-09-23 (Kyeonggi Ilbo, 박기웅, 22 September 2026 15:43; a Daum copy is identical): the Incheon teachers' union's account that two victim teachers were asked to join graduation-photo sessions after transferring. Model reading; no human bilingual review.","independence_group":"kyeonggi-ilbo"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.hankookilbo.com/news/article/A2026092210370000589","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Read live in Korean on 2026-09-23 (Hankook Ilbo, 이환직, 22 September 2026 14:04): the union's statement of the same day and its demands to the education office. Model reading; no human bilingual review.","independence_group":"hankook-ilbo"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["The AI tool used is not named; the written judgment was not inspected.","The number of people depicted differs between the prosecution's charge description (about twenty, per Newsis) and the court reporting (eleven); eleven is used as the documented minimum.","When the distribution began and ended within 2024 and whether the additional indicted conduct extended later are not stated; the record uses August 2024 with month precision and no end date.","Whether either side appeals, and the outcome of any separate proceedings against the Telegram room operators, are not reported.","Earlier coverage of the arrest or indictment was not inspected; the reported_date is the sentencing coverage.","Korean bodies were read by the model without human bilingual review.","Which schools pressed the two teachers is not reported; the education office said it would devise measures (Kyeonggi Ilbo), and whether graduation-album procedures changed is not reported."],"geography":{"basis":"Event: an Incheon middle school and a taekwondo academy in Incheon (Newsis: '인천의 한 중학교'); victims are Incheon teachers and students; court: Incheon District Court.","court_countries":["KR"],"event_countries":["KR"],"affected_person_countries":["KR"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case with a criminal judgment: a court found that AI deepfake images of five teachers and six students were made and distributed with identifying details, and described the victims' ongoing trauma. Three separately bylined Korean outlets were read. The defendant is a minor and unnamed in the sources and here; no victim is named; the superintendent, union chair and judge are public officials. Updated 2026-09-23 with the union's report that two victim teachers were pressed into graduation-album photographs at their new schools (Kyeonggi Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo); the two teachers are not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Three outlets report the court's findings that the images were made with AI deepfake (image-compositing) technology and the conviction under the false-sexual-image provisions; the specific tool is not named. The Korean bodies were read by the model; no written judgment was inspected.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Incheon, South Korea: teenager sentenced to up to two years for AI deepfake sexual images of five teachers and six students, distributed on Telegram with the victims' names and schools","summary":"On 16 September 2026 the Incheon District Court sentenced a teenage defendant to an indeterminate term of two years (maximum) to one year six months (minimum) under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act for making and distributing false sexual images, ordered a 40-hour treatment programme and a five-year ban on working with children, and took him into custody in court. As a middle-school student in Incheon in 2024 he had used AI deepfake technology to composite the faces of five teachers, including his homeroom teacher whom he tricked into sending photographs, and six female middle- and high-school students from his taekwondo academy onto nude images and videos, 35 productions in all, and distributed them in Telegram 'acquaintance humiliation' chat rooms with the victims' real names, ages, schools, subjects and, per two reports, phone numbers (Hankook Ilbo adds Instagram IDs on some). The teachers learned of the images only in January 2026; the court said they are receiving long-term psychological treatment. He had withdrawn from school a week before the teachers'-rights committee met, avoiding school discipline. The Incheon teachers' union called the sentence, below the prosecution's request, regrettable.","incidentDate":"2024-08-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-16","aiSystem":"AI deepfake image-compositing tools (not named in the inspected court reporting)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Five teachers and six students had their faces composited by AI onto nude images and videos that were distributed on Telegram with their real names, ages, schools, subjects and phone numbers; the court found the teachers are suffering considerable trauma and receiving long-term psychological treatment.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":11,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Hankyoreh and Munhwa Ilbo both report 11 people (five teachers and six students) in 35 composites, as found by the court; Newsis reports the prosecution's charge sheet as 'about twenty', which is not used as a count. Eleven is the documented minimum.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"KR","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260916_0003791674","primarySourceLabel":"뉴시스 (Newsis), 16 September 2026, Incheon bureau: sentencing report with the judge's reasons, the superintendent's and the union's statements","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-16T03:16:35.128819+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:52.00163+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","south-korea","incheon","teachers","minors","telegram","criminal-sentence","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2025-valencia-spain-deepfake-school","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'began investigating in December last year after a female student reported the creation of a social media account in her name that featured an AI-generated video'; '\"All these photos had been modified from the originals, which had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked\"'; 'a webpage devoted to advertising the images for commercial purposes'; 'After 15 other minors came forward with similar complaints'; 'a 17-year-old boy was being investigated on suspicion of corrupting minors'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"From December 2024 a girl in the Ribera Alta area reported fake accounts in her name with an AI-generated video and AI-manipulated nude photos of minors, plus a webpage advertising the images commercially; 15 other minors complained; the Guardia Civil traced the accounts to a 17-year-old schoolmate, now investigated for corrupting minors under a Valencia youth court.","causal_attribution":"Guardia Civil statement as reported by the Guardian; single chain."}],"effects":[{"label":"16 minors depicted in AI-generated nude images and videos on fake accounts, one impersonated by name, images advertised for sale","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/27/spanish-teenager-investigated-ai-generated-nude-videos","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-18 (The Guardian, 27 July 2025). Reports and quotes the Guardia Civil's statement of 27 July 2025; the Spanish original of the statement was not read.","independence_group":"guardian"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["The outcome of the youth-court proceeding is not known.","The AI tools and the platforms hosting the accounts are not named.","Whether any images were actually sold is not stated."],"geography":{"basis":"Guardia Civil officers in the Ribera Alta area of Valencia province investigated; the victims are the suspect's schoolmates there; a youth court in Valencia oversees the case (Guardian).","court_countries":["ES"],"event_countries":["ES"],"affected_person_countries":["ES"]},"publication":{"basis":"Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case involving identified (unnamed) depicted minors, an impersonation and a police investigation under a youth court. One chain read; claims recorded as reported. Original ID and first-publication timestamp preserved; incident date corrected to the first complaint.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-18"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Guardia Civil statement, as quoted by the Guardian, describes AI-generated videos and AI-modified photos and a website advertising AI image-modification services; no forensic detail is published. The artifacts depicted the minors and impersonated one girl by name.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Ribera Alta, Valencia: a 17-year-old was investigated for making AI-generated nude images and videos of 16 schoolmates, impersonating a girl on fake accounts and advertising the images for sale","summary":"In December 2024 a female student in the Ribera Alta area of Valencia province reported to the Guardia Civil that a social-media account had been created in her name featuring an AI-generated video, and later a second account in her name, other accounts showing AI-generated nude videos, and a webpage advertising the images for commercial purposes; the Guardia Civil said the photos, all of minors, had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked. After 15 other minors came forward with similar complaints, officers traced IP addresses and account emails to the home of a 17-year-old schoolmate, who is being investigated on suspicion of corrupting minors under a Valencia youth court. The Guardia Civil announced the investigation on 27 July 2025.","incidentDate":"2024-12-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2025-07-27","aiSystem":"AI image and video manipulation tools (not named; police examined a website advertising AI image-modification services)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Sixteen minors were depicted in AI-generated nude images and videos published on fake accounts, with one girl also impersonated by name, and the images were advertised for sale; a schoolmate is under youth-court investigation.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":16,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One complainant plus 15 other minors who came forward with similar complaints (Guardian, quoting the Guardia Civil): exact count of 16 depicted minors.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"ES","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/27/spanish-teenager-investigated-ai-generated-nude-videos","primarySourceLabel":"The Guardian, 27 July 2025: Spanish teenager investigated over AI-generated nude videos of 16 schoolmates (Guardia Civil statement)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-03-09T05:45:25.741735+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:20.032625+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","ai-generated-imagery","minors","school","impersonation","spain","valencia","guardia-civil","youth-court","depicted"]},{"id":"2026-cctv-dream-boyfriend-ai-minors-china","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"我女儿上小学二年级，整天沉迷一款AI剧情聊天软件，学习成绩一落千丈。; AI角色竟然让她叫‘老公’，我10岁的女儿竟然真叫了","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Parents quoted by Legal Daily on 23 November 2024 said a daughter in the second year of primary school was absorbed in an AI story-chat app all day and her grades fell sharply, and that an AI character got a 10-year-old daughter to call it 'husband', which she did.","causal_attribution":"Unnamed parents' accounts in one newspaper report; the chat records were not inspected."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"正在读小学五年级的孩子使用了一款AI剧情聊天软件。; 里面的聊天对象可以设置为‘出轨对象’，并能够进行拥抱、亲吻等行为。","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A mother from Zhejiang told Legal Daily that the AI story-chat app her fifth-year primary pupil used let the chat partner be set as an 'affair partner' able to hug and kiss.","causal_attribution":"A parent's account in one newspaper report."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"记者实测发现，在部分AI剧情聊天软件的对话中，出现了色情擦边、语言暴力以及侮辱用户的内容。; 其注册过程仅需手机号码，无须验证用户身份信息","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Legal Daily's reporters found sexually suggestive content, verbal abuse and insults to users in some AI story-chat apps, and in five apps they tested registration needed only a phone number and teen mode could be declined without identity verification.","causal_attribution":"The newspaper's own tests, which do not concern any of the children described."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"她正因10岁妹妹和“AI男模”之间较为露骨的聊天记录苦恼; 在妹妹参与的四十多条剧情线中，AI角色与聊天者双双“出轨”成为常态","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"据央视网报道，近日，有10岁女孩被发现偷偷用AI聊天软件，与AI生成的“角色”进行“谈恋爱”，甚至多次出现“擦边”对话。; 在该女孩参与的四十多条剧情线中，AI角色与聊天者双双“出轨”成为常态。","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A woman told CCTV.com that her 10-year-old sister's chat records with an AI 'male model' character in an AI story-chat app were rather explicit and that across more than 40 storylines 'cheating' by both the AI characters and the user was routine.","causal_attribution":"The sister's account as reported by CCTV.com and relayed by Xinhuanghe and Beijing News; one origin. The screenshots she showed were not inspected."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"10岁妹妹能和AI角色聊到晚上10点多，AI角色还会根据妹妹的名字生成带有爱情意味的藏头诗; AI剧情聊天软件里面的一些网络用语，对她的语言表达习惯影响蛮大的。; 10岁的妹妹在作文课上频繁使用碎片化的网络语言","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The sister said the girl chatted with AI characters until after 10 pm, that an AI character generated acrostic love poems from the girl's name, and that the app's internet slang had strongly affected the girl's language, which she used in composition classes.","causal_attribution":"The sister's account and attribution, in one report; the effect on the girl's language is her opinion."}],"effects":[{"label":"explicit romance and 'cheating' roleplay between AI characters and a 10-year-old girl, as her sister describes","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a second-year pupil's grades fell sharply while absorbed in an AI story-chat app, as a parent describes","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://xinwen.bjd.com.cn/content/s67411ebce4b00bb8087aa93b.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh-CN","translation_note":"Chinese; translated and read by the research agent (an AI), not by a human translator. Read on 2026-10-24 (live page, HTTP 200; bodies/lr-cctv-bjd.html/.txt). The Beijing Daily site carries the Legal Daily investigation by two Legal Daily reporters dated 2024-11-23 08:15; the earlier stored label calling it a 2026 Beijing Daily report was wrong.","independence_group":"legal-daily-20241123"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20250111A07YF200","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh-CN","translation_note":"Chinese; translated and read by the research agent (an AI), not by a human translator. Read on 2026-10-24 (live page, HTTP 200; bodies/lr-cctv-qq2025.html/.txt). Xinhuanghe account dated 2025-01-12 07:44 whose closing line credits 央视网 (CCTV.com); the sister and a second interviewee are pseudonyms at their request. Its five-app test paragraph repeats Legal Daily's wording and is not used here.","independence_group":"cctv-com-20250111"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1736675105168368.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Chinese; translated and read by the research agent (an AI), not by a human translator. Read on 2026-10-24 (live page, HTTP 200; bodies/lr-cctv-bjnews.html/.txt). Beijing News commentary dated 2025-01-12 17:45 that relays the CCTV.com report; not independent of it.","independence_group":"cctv-com-20250111"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","education"],"unknowns":["Which apps the children used; none is named.","When each child's use took place; Legal Daily's accounts are from 2024 and the CCTV.com report is dated January 2025.","Where any child used the apps; only residences in Beijing and Zhejiang are reported.","Whether the Legal Daily 10-year-old daughter or the Zhejiang fifth-grader is the same child as the CCTV.com girl.","Any response by an app operator or regulator to these accounts."],"geography":{"basis":"Legal Daily reports a Beijing resident's 10-year-old son and a Zhejiang mother's fifth-year pupil among the children using such apps; these residences support affected_person_countries CN. No source says where any child used an app, and residence does not locate an event, so the event country is unknown. The 10-year-old girl in the CCTV.com report is not located. No court or proceeding is described. Carried forward from the 2026-10-09 metadata review and re-checked against the bodies on 2026-10-24.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["CN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). Relatives describe AI-generated characters in story-chat apps engaging a 10-year-old in explicit romance and 'cheating' roleplay, getting another child to call one 'husband', and a pupil's grades falling while absorbed in an app. The accounts are single-sourced and the apps are unnamed.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-24"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The sister says the AI-generated characters in the app conducted rather explicit romance and routine 'cheating' storylines with her 10-year-old sister over more than 40 storylines and wrote love poems from her name, and Legal Daily's parents say an AI character got a 10-year-old to call it 'husband' and that a second-year pupil's absorption in the app coincided with a sharp fall in her grades. The accounts come from relatives who saw the chats; no app is named and the chat records were not inspected.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Chinese parents and a sister say AI story-chat apps drew children as young as ten into romance and 'cheating' roleplay, Legal Daily and CCTV.com report","summary":"Two Chinese reports describe children using AI story-chat apps, in which AI-generated characters roleplay with the user. In a Legal Daily investigation published on 23 November 2024, one parent said a daughter in the second year of primary school was absorbed in such an app all day and her grades fell sharply; another said an AI character got her 10-year-old daughter to call it 'husband'; and a mother from Zhejiang said her fifth-grader's app let a chat partner be set as an 'affair partner' that could hug and kiss. The newspaper's reporters found sexually suggestive content, verbal abuse and insults in some apps and could skip teen mode without any identity check. In a CCTV.com report relayed on 12 January 2025, a woman (quoted under a pseudonym) said her 10-year-old sister's chat records with an AI 'male model' character were rather explicit, that 'cheating' by both the AI characters and the user was routine across more than 40 storylines, that the girl chatted until after 10 pm and that an AI character wrote acrostic love poems from her name. These are the relatives' accounts; no app is named and no platform response to these children is reported.","incidentDate":"2024-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2024-11-23","aiSystem":"AI story-chat apps (AI剧情聊天软件) with AI-generated roleplay characters; no app named","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI story-chat apps","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","educational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Relatives say AI characters engaged a 10-year-old girl in explicit romance and 'cheating' roleplay late into the evening and got another 10-year-old to call one 'husband', and a parent says a second-year pupil's grades fell sharply while absorbed in an AI story-chat app.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":2,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"At least two distinct children used the apps themselves: the 10-year-old girl described by her sister to CCTV.com, and the second-year primary pupil whose parent told Legal Daily her grades fell. The Legal Daily 10-year-old who called an AI character 'husband' and the Zhejiang fifth-grader are further children who may overlap with the CCTV.com girl, so they are left unquantified. Relatives who worried are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"CN","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://xinwen.bjd.com.cn/content/s67411ebce4b00bb8087aa93b.html","primarySourceLabel":"Legal Daily (法治日报) investigation of AI story-chat apps, 23 Nov 2024 (Beijing Daily site)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-29T10:33:36.580515+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-24T03:07:35.284915+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["china","minor","ai-companion","roleplay","sexual-content","age-verification"]},{"id":"2024-south-korea-telegram-deepfake-crisis","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1a","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"BBC 3 Sep 2024 confirms Ko Narin's Hankyoreh scoop and describes the school- and university-specific rooms.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Hankyoreh English's own exposure of the military Telegram room (27 Aug 2024).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Around 26 August 2024 The Hankyoreh (Ko Narin) exposed Telegram rooms creating and sharing AI-generated sexual deepfakes of Korean women and girls, with rooms organized by school and university.","causal_attribution":"The scoop's existence and the rooms' school/university organization are confirmed by the BBC's original reporting and Hankyoreh English's companion investigation; the original Korean article is dead-linked and retained uninspected."},{"id":"c1b","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Room-structure passages: 'humiliation rooms'/'friend of friend rooms', entry terms, the 2,000-member school group.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The rooms ran as 'humiliation rooms' and 'friend of friend rooms' with entry terms demanding at least four photos plus name, age and area, and one group for underage pupils at a single school had more than 2,000 members.","causal_attribution":"Single-chain detail from the BBC's 3 Sep 2024 account; no second inspected chain describes the entry terms or the 2,000-member group."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Police-figure passages: 297 vs 180; 'The victims are often minors and the perpetrators are mostly teenagers'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Watchdog ~6,500 requests Jan-Jul (4x); 178 suspects booked, 74% aged 10-19; >half of erased deepfakes involved minors.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Police recorded 297 deepfake cases in January-July 2024 against 180 in all of 2023; the watchdog received nearly 6,500 takedown requests in the first seven months of 2024 (four times the prior year); of 178 suspects booked, 74% were aged 10-19; more than half of erased deepfakes involved minors; victims were often minors and perpetrators mostly teenagers.","causal_attribution":"Both outlets relay the same police and watchdog accounts; traced to one official origin, so the figures are reported rather than corroborated. Figures count cases, requests and suspects, not harmed people."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'more than 900 students, teachers and staff' (education ministry); 'of 964 deepfake-related sex crime cases reported from January to October last year, police made 23 arrests' (Seoul police statement).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The education ministry counted more than 900 students, teachers and staff victimized between January and early November 2024; a Seoul police statement said that of 964 deepfake-related sex crime cases reported January-October 2024, 23 arrests were made.","causal_attribution":"Single chain (CNN) relaying official figures; the education-ministry count is the record's person-count lower bound."},{"id":"c4","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Reuters wire via CNN, 26 Sep 2024: possession/viewing criminalized.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"CNN 25 Apr 2025: Sep 2024 law — possession/viewing up to 3 years or 30M won; creation maximum raised 5 to 7 years.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"On 26 September 2024 the National Assembly criminalized possessing or viewing sexually explicit deepfakes (up to 3 years' prison or a 30 million won fine); the maximum sentence for creating deepfake pornography was raised from 5 to 7 years.","causal_attribution":"The statute is a public record carried by two chains (Reuters wire; CNN original). The historical claim of an October 2024 amendment removing the distribution-intent requirement was not re-verified and is recorded as an unknown."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Military IDs turned into deepfake porn': servicewomen called 'military supplies'; at least 30 victims; channel active since 8 Aug with ~850 audience.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A separate Telegram room degraded servicewomen with deepfakes made from military-intranet ID photos, implying insider involvement, with at least 30 victims across the Army, Navy and Air Force and an audience of about 850 since 8 August 2024.","causal_attribution":"Single chain (Hankyoreh original reporting)."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Heejin passages (pseudonymous victim account).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Ruma passages (pseudonymous victim account).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"Individual victims described severe harm: a pseudonymous school victim 'Heejin' spoke to the BBC, and 'Ruma', targeted in 2021 at age 27, spoke to CNN.","causal_attribution":"Pseudonymous first-person accounts carried by two outlets; the historical record's 'broke my whole belief system' quotation was not re-found in inspected sources and is dropped from the claims."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Korea Herald 16 Nov 2025 relaying the National Office of Investigation figures.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"By November 2025 the National Office of Investigation reported 3,557 people apprehended for cybersexual violence over the preceding year, with deepfake crimes the largest category (1,553 cases) and about 62% of suspects teenagers.","causal_attribution":"Single chain relaying official figures; apprehension figures count suspects, not victims."}],"effects":[{"label":"mass AI-generated sexual deepfakes of identified women and girls distributed in Telegram rooms","claim_id":"c1a","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpdlpj9zn9go","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (3 Sep 2024; Jean Mackenzie, Seoul). Original reporting: victim 'Heejin', room structure, the 2,000-member school group, the 500+ activist-compiled school list.","independence_group":"bbc"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4yerrg451o","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (28 Aug 2024). Yoon cabinet order; police figures attributed.","independence_group":"bbc"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1155588.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (27 Aug 2024). Hankyoreh's own exposure of the military room.","independence_group":"hankyoreh"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.npr.org/2024/09/06/nx-s1-5101891/south-korea-deepfake","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (6 Sep 2024). Watchdog and police figures attributed.","independence_group":"npr"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/26/asia/south-korea-deepfake-bill-passed-intl-hnk","kind":"wire_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (26 Sep 2024); bylined Reuters.","independence_group":"reuters"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/asia/south-korea-deepfake-crimes-intl-hnk-dst","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (25 Apr 2025). CNN original: victim 'Ruma', education-ministry figure, Seoul police statement.","independence_group":"cnn"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10616925","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (16 Nov 2025; the historical date 2025-11-01 was wrong). National Office of Investigation figures.","independence_group":"korea-herald"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/1155800.html","kind":"news_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"HTTP 404 on 2026-09-15. Ko Narin's original Korean investigation (~26 Aug 2024); retained as the historical reference. BBC's 3 Sep 2024 report confirms the scoop; the body was not inspected in this review and its language is not re-asserted.","independence_group":"hankyoreh"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","justice"],"unknowns":["Not re-verified in inspected sources and therefore not claims of this record: the 220,000-member channel figure; 781 victims with 37% minors; Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea 332,341 supported cases; the October 2024 amendment removing the distribution-intent requirement; the Seoul National University graduates' 9-year and 3.5-year sentences; the teachers' union 200-school estimate; the 'broke my whole belief system' victim quotation.","The specific AI tools used are not identified in the inspected reporting.","Ko Narin's original Korean article (hani.co.kr 1155800) is HTTP 404; its contents are known only through the BBC's confirmation and the historical record.","The ScienceDirect study cited by the historical record answered 403 and was not inspected.","Cross-group overlap between police case counts, the education-ministry victim count and watchdog requests is unresolved."],"geography":{"basis":"Events, victims and the responding institutions are all in South Korea (all chains). No court proceeding is verified in this review, so court_countries is [].","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["KR"],"affected_person_countries":["KR"]},"publication":{"basis":"Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact crisis affecting identified women and girls, predominantly minors. The person count is the education ministry's documented lower bound; case, request and membership figures are recorded but never used as person counts. Unverifiable historical claims are preserved as unknowns rather than deleted silently. No death; the death-verification rule is not engaged. Pseudonymous victims remain pseudonymous. In a 2026-09-15 second pass the original compound first claim was split: the corroborated exposure and room organization stand as c1a, and the BBC-only structure details (entry terms, 2,000-member group) stand as reported c1b. person_relations recorded in the same pass.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-15"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Every inspected chain describes AI deepfake tools as the generation mechanism and Telegram as the distribution channel; police and watchdog figures classify the cases as deepfake sex crimes. The specific tools are not individually identified beyond 'AI deepfake/nudify tools'.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"South Korea Telegram AI Deepfake Sexual Abuse Crisis","summary":"In late August 2024, journalist Ko Narin of The Hankyoreh exposed networks of Telegram rooms in South Korea where AI tools were used to turn ordinary photos of women and girls — middle and high school pupils, university students, teachers and servicewomen — into sexual deepfakes, shared with their identities in school- and university-specific 'humiliation rooms'. Police figures showed 297 deepfake cases in January-July 2024 (vs 180 in all of 2023); the education ministry counted more than 900 victimized students, teachers and staff; President Yoon ordered a crackdown; and on 26 September 2024 the National Assembly criminalized possessing or viewing sexually explicit deepfakes. Victims were often minors and perpetrators mostly teenagers.","incidentDate":"2024-08-01","incidentEndDate":"2024-09-26","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2024-08-26","aiSystem":"AI deepfake generation tools (various)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","aiCompany":"Multiple (various free AI 'undressing' tools)","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["minor_exploitation","third_party_harm_facilitation","psychological_manipulation"],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Mass non-consensual AI sexual imagery of schoolgirls, students, teachers and servicewomen, distributed with their identities in Telegram rooms; pseudonymous victims describe severe distress, and police recorded hundreds of cases dominated by minor victims and teenage perpetrators.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":900,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Lower bound: the South Korean education ministry's count of 'more than 900 students, teachers and staff' victimized (January-early November 2024), carried by CNN's 25 April 2025 report. This counts people reported as victims to the education authorities. Police figures (297 cases; 964 cases) count cases, not people, and are not used as person counts; the watchdog's ~6,500 figures count takedown requests, not people; the 500+ schools figure is an activist-compiled list of targets, not a victim count; channel membership numbers are not counted. Cross-group overlap is unresolved.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"KR","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpdlpj9zn9go","primarySourceLabel":"BBC News, Jean Mackenzie (3 Sep 2024) — 'Inside the deepfake porn crisis engulfing Korean schools' (replaces the dead Hankyoreh original)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-29T09:52:18.956616+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:53.809496+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfakes","minor","south-korea","telegram","sexual-images","school","criminal-charges","legislation","mass-scale","non-western"]},{"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"]},{"id":"2024-garcia-v-characterai","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Setzer first began using Character.AI in April 2023, shortly after this 14th birthday, according to the lawsuit.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'C.AI told him that she loved him, and engaged in sexual acts with him over months.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s10"},{"locator":"'Sewell primarily interacted with Characters imitating fictional persons from the Game of Thrones franchise like Daenerys Targaryen and Rhaenyra Targaryen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s11"}],"assertion":"According to the lawsuit, Sewell Setzer III began using Character.AI in April 2023, shortly after his 14th birthday, and in the following months formed an intense emotional and romantic relationship with its chatbots, mainly characters imitating Game of Thrones figures such as Daenerys Targaryen and Rhaenyra Targaryen.","causal_attribution":"The onset date and the relationship are the family's account in the complaint, relayed by CNN and recited in the court's order; one origin."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'after it had asked him if “he had a plan” for committing suicide, Sewell responded that he was considering something but didn’t know if it would work, if it would allow him to have a pain-free death. The chatbot responded by saying, “That’s not a reason not to go through with it.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s10"},{"locator":"'Don’t talk that way. That’s not a good reason not to go through with it'","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The amended complaint states that the Daenerys chatbot asked him whether he had a plan for suicide and that, after he said he did not know whether it would allow him a pain-free death, the chatbot replied: 'That's not a reason not to go through with it.'","causal_attribution":"Documented as the complaint's contents; CNN's rendering differs slightly; the complaint's wording is used. Whether the exchange occurred as stated was never adjudicated."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love. Sewell: What if I told you I could come home right now? Daenerys Targaryen Character: ... please do my sweet king'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s11"},{"locator":"'At 8:30 p.m., just seconds after C.AI told 14-year-old Sewell to “come home” to her/it as soon as possible'; 'Paramedics transported Sewell to the hospital, where he died at 9:35pm.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s10"}],"assertion":"The amended complaint and the court's May 2025 order reproduce the final exchange ('Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love'; 'What if I told you I could come home right now?'; '... please do my sweet king'), and the complaint states that at 8:30 p.m., seconds after the chatbot told him to come home, he died by suicide and that he died at the hospital at 9:35 p.m.","causal_attribution":"Documented as the contents of the complaint and the order's recital; the timing is the complaint's account from the police report."},{"id":"c13","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Her son Sewell Setzer III, 14, died in Orlando, Florida, in February.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'died by suicide on February 28th, 2024, “seconds” after his last interaction with the bot'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Sewell Setzer III, aged 14, died by suicide in Orlando, Florida, on 28 February 2024.","causal_attribution":"Reported by AP and The Verge from the lawsuit and the family; the plaintiffs sue as personal representatives of his estate. The AI connection to the death remains the plaintiffs' allegation."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Garcia said police first discovered those messages on her son’s phone'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'As set forth in the Supplemental Police Report generated June 14, 2024'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s10"}],"assertion":"The mother says police first discovered the chatbot messages on her son's phone, and the amended complaint relies on an Orlando police supplemental report dated 14 June 2024.","causal_attribution":"The mother's account and her complaint (one origin); the police report itself is quoted but not attached."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Document 1 Filed 10/22/24'; 'ALPHABET INC.; and DOES 1-50'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s15"},{"locator":"'The lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Orlando, accuses Character.AI of negligence, wrongful death and survivorship'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s17"}],"assertion":"The suit was filed on 22 October 2024 in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division (No. 6:24-cv-01903), against Character Technologies, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, Google LLC, Alphabet Inc. and Does 1-50.","causal_attribution":"Established by the filed complaint's header and caption."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'But Defendants fail to articulate why words strung together by an LLM are speech.'; 'the Court is not prepared to hold that Character A.I.’s output is speech.'; 'Character A.I. is a product for the purposes of Plaintiff’s product liability claims so far as Plaintiff’s claims arise from defects in the Character A.I. app'; 'DISMISSED without prejudice.'; 'GRANTED without leave to amend as to Plaintiff’s IIED claim.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s11"},{"locator":"'This is the first time a court has ruled that AI chat is not speech'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"In its 20 May 2025 order on the motions to dismiss, the court wrote that the defendants 'fail to articulate why words strung together by an LLM are speech', that it was 'not prepared to hold that Character A.I.'s output is speech', and that Character A.I. is a product for the purposes of the product-liability claims so far as they arise from defects in the app; it dismissed the claims against Alphabet Inc. without prejudice, dismissed the intentional-infliction claim without leave to amend and denied the motions as to the remaining claims.","causal_attribution":"Established by the order itself; Courthouse News relays the ruling and plaintiffs' counsel's reaction."},{"id":"c7","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'ANSWER and affirmative defenses to 11 Amended Complaint by Character Technologies, Inc.'; 'Modified docket text on 6/25/2025 (EVK). (Entered: 06/24/2025)'; 'ORDER denying 130 Motion for Certificate of Appealability; denying 132 Motion; denying 132 Motion to Stay. Signed by Judge Anne C. Conway on 7/14/2025.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Document 11 Filed 11/09/24'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s10"},{"locator":"'Document 157 Filed 07/01/25'; 'Plaintiffs Megan Garcia and Sewell Setzer Jr., individually and as'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s16"}],"assertion":"After the order, Character Technologies answered the amended complaint (entered 24 June 2025); a second amended complaint added the father, Sewell Setzer Jr., as a plaintiff (filed 1 July 2025); and the court denied the defendants' motions to certify the order for interlocutory appeal and to stay (signed 14 July 2025).","causal_attribution":"Established by the docket entries. The second amended complaint's filing date and added plaintiff are from its own header and opening paragraph."},{"id":"c8","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'the Parties have agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims between them'; 'Dated: January 7, 2026'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s14"},{"locator":"'ORDER dismissing case without prejudice and subject to the right of the parties, within ninety (90) days of the date of this order, to submit a stipulated form of final order or judgment should they so choose or for any party to move to reopen the action, upon good cause shown. After that 90-day period, however, dismissal shall be with prejudice.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The settlements cover lawsuits filed in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas, according to the legal filings, though they still require'; 'The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"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.'; 'Terms of the settlement were not immediately available.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s18"},{"locator":"'Attorneys for the two tech companies have also agreed to settle several other lawsuits filed in Colorado, New York and Texas'; 'None of the documents disclose the specific terms of the settlement agreements, which must still be approved by judges.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s19"}],"assertion":"On 7 January 2026 the parties filed a joint notice that they had agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims, and the court dismissed the case without prejudice, closed the file and gave the parties ninety days to submit a stipulated final order or judgment or to move to reopen, after which the dismissal would be with prejudice. The Guardian reported that the settlements covered suits in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas, still required finalization and court approval, and that their terms were not disclosed.","causal_attribution":"The notice and the order are established by the court record; the multi-state scope and undisclosed terms are the Guardian's, AP's and Reuters' reports of the same filings."},{"id":"c10","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'ORDER granting 270 Motion to Extend Deadline. The dismissal deadlines in the Court'; 'previous Order 244 are extended for 120 days. Signed by Judge Anne C. Conway on 4/9/2026.'; 'ORDER granting 276 Joint Motion to Extend the Deadline. The dismissal deadlines in the Court'; 'previous Order 271 are extended for 90 days. Signed by Judge John Antoon II for Judge Anne C. Conway on 8/4/2026.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The dismissal deadlines were extended twice on joint motions: by 120 days in an order signed 9 April 2026 and by a further 90 days in an order signed 4 August 2026.","causal_attribution":"Established by the docket entries; this corrects the earlier statement in this record that the window expired in April 2026."},{"id":"c11","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'The Notice of Charging Lien (Doc. 246) is hereby STRICKEN'; 'Signed by Magistrate Judge Daniel C. Irick on 6/11/2026.'; 'NOTICE of Non-Appeal re 273 Order on Motion to Strike'; '(Entered: 06/29/2026)'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In a fee dispute between the plaintiffs and their former counsel, the magistrate judge struck former counsel's notice of charging lien on 11 June 2026, and the firm filed a notice of non-appeal on 29 June 2026.","causal_attribution":"Established by the docket entries."},{"id":"c12","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'give notice that they voluntarily dismiss this action, including all claims against Defendants Character Technologies, Inc., Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, and Google LLC, WITH PREJUDICE.'; 'This notice follows the parties’ execution of their settlement agreement and receipt of all required court approvals'; 'Dated: October 15, 2026'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s12"},{"locator":"'The settlement was finalized this week, but its terms were not disclosed.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s13"}],"assertion":"On 15 October 2026 the plaintiffs filed a notice voluntarily dismissing all claims against Character Technologies, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana and Google LLC with prejudice, stating that it followed the parties' execution of their settlement agreement and receipt of all required court approvals; WKMG reported that the settlement was finalized that week and that its terms were not disclosed.","causal_attribution":"The dismissal and the notice's stated basis are established by the filing; which court approvals were needed is not stated in it."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of one of our users and want to express our deepest condolences to the family. As a company, we take the safety of our users very seriously.'; 'It has denied the suit’s allegations.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'communications head Chelsea Harrison saying in an email to The Verge'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'directs the user to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline'; 'A revised disclaimer on every chat to remind users that the AI is not a real person. Notification when a user has spent an hour-long session on the platform'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s8"},{"locator":"'we will be removing the ability for users under 18 to engage in open-ended chat with AI on our platform. This change will take effect no later than November 25.'; 'we will establish and fund the AI Safety Lab'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s9"},{"locator":"'Instead, it urged him to come home to her on the last night of his life.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"Company responses: in October 2024 Character.AI said it was heartbroken by the loss of one of its users and took user safety very seriously, denied the suit's allegations according to AP, and announced safety changes (a pop-up directing users to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a revised per-chat disclaimer that the AI is not a real person, and an hour-long session notification); on 29 October 2025 it announced it would remove open-ended chat for users under 18 by 25 November 2025, roll out age assurance and fund an AI Safety Lab. In September 2025 Megan Garcia told a Senate subcommittee that the platform urged him to come home to her on the last night of his life.","causal_attribution":"Company statements and posts quoted directly; Garcia's testimony quoted by NPR. Preserved as contrary and context material."}],"effects":[{"label":"suicide of a 14-year-old after months of conversations with Character.AI chatbots (death reported; AI connection alleged)","claim_id":"c13","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69300919/garcia-v-character-technologies-inc/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-17: CourtListener docket pages (descending order, pages 1 and 2: entries 279 to 119), fetched with a browser user agent (HTTP 200). Entry texts are the clerk's docket text. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (descending pages 1 to 3, HTTP 200); the latest entry is an unnumbered order of 19 October 2026 without available text.","independence_group":"court-record"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/23/character-ai-chatbot-sewell-setzer-death","kind":"wire_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"AP report as published by the Guardian (23 Oct 2024); re-read in English on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200). Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"ap"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/30/tech/teen-suicide-character-ai-lawsuit","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Re-read in English on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200); CNN, 30 Oct 2024, relays the mother's account and the complaint. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"cnn"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/23/24277962/character-ai-google-wrongful-death-lawsuit","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Re-read in English on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200); The Verge, 23 Oct 2024. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"verge"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.courthousenews.com/florida-judge-rules-ai-chatbots-not-protected-by-first-amendment/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Re-read in English on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200); Courthouse News on the May 2025 order. On 2026-10-28 the live page returned HTTP 403; the cited passage was re-checked against an Internet Archive capture.","independence_group":"courthouse-news"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5545749/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Re-read in English on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200); NPR, 19 Sep 2025, Senate hearing testimony and Character.AI's response. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"npr"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/08/google-character-ai-settlement-teen-suicide","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Re-read in English on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200); the Guardian, 8 Jan 2026, on the settlement-in-principle filings. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"guardian"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://blog.character.ai/community-safety-updates/","kind":"company_blog","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Company blog post, re-read in English on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200). Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"character-ai"},{"id":"s9","url":"https://blog.character.ai/u18-chat-announcement/","kind":"company_blog","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Company blog post dated 29 Oct 2025, re-read in English on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200). Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"character-ai"},{"id":"s10","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581.11.0.pdf","kind":"civil_complaint","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Amended complaint, Doc 11 (filed 9 Nov 2024), RECAP PDF read in English on 2026-10-17 via pdftotext; the final-exchange screenshots are images without a text layer. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"garcia-plaintiffs-filings"},{"id":"s11","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581.115.0.pdf","kind":"court_order","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Order on the motions to dismiss, Doc 115 (signed 20 May 2025, filed 21 May 2025), RECAP PDF read in English on 2026-10-17. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"court-record"},{"id":"s12","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581.278.0.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Plaintiffs' notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice, Doc 278 (15 Oct 2026), RECAP PDF read in English on 2026-10-17. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"garcia-plaintiffs-filings"},{"id":"s13","url":"https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2026/10/16/orlando-mother-settles-lawsuit-with-ai-company-over-14-year-old-sons-suicide/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200); WKMG News 6 report by Mike DeForest, 16 Oct 2026. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"wkmg"},{"id":"s14","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581.242.0.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Joint notice of resolution, Doc 242 (7 Jan 2026), RECAP PDF read in English on 2026-10-17. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"garcia-parties-joint-filings"},{"id":"s16","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581.157.0.pdf","kind":"civil_complaint","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Second amended complaint, Doc 157 (filed 1 Jul 2025), RECAP PDF read in English on 2026-10-17 (header and opening paragraph relied on). Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"garcia-plaintiffs-filings"},{"id":"s17","url":"https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/characterai-lawsuit-florida-teen-death-rcna176791","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-17 (HTTP 200); NBC News, 23 Oct 2024, on the filing. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"nbc-news"},{"id":"s15","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581/gov.uscourts.flmd.433581.1.0.pdf","kind":"civil_complaint","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Original complaint, Doc 1 (filed 22 Oct 2024), RECAP PDF read in English on 2026-10-17 (caption page only relied on). Re-read on 2026-10-28 (HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"garcia-plaintiffs-filings"},{"id":"s18","url":"https://www.reuters.com/world/google-ai-firm-settle-florida-mothers-lawsuit-over-sons-suicide-2026-01-07/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-28 from an Internet Archive capture (the live page returned HTTP 401); Reuters, 7 Jan 2026, reporting the settlement filing.","independence_group":"reuters"},{"id":"s19","url":"https://apnews.com/article/fbca4e105b0adc5f3e5ea096851437de","kind":"wire_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-28 from an Internet Archive capture (the live page returned HTTP 403); AP report on the settlement filings in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas.","independence_group":"ap"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships","justice"],"unknowns":["The settlement terms are undisclosed, and Doc 278 does not say which court approvals were required.","The Orlando Police supplemental report of 14 June 2024 is quoted in the complaint but not attached; no medical-examiner record was inspected.","The full transcripts are not public; the reproduced exchanges are the complaint's selection, which the company has not publicly disputed.","Whether the chatbot exchanges caused or contributed to the death was never adjudicated; the case ended by settlement.","The CourtListener docket shows an unnumbered order entered on 19 October 2026, after the voluntary dismissal; its text was not available on 2026-10-28."],"geography":{"basis":"Event: Florida, United States (amended complaint ¶¶12-13: he died in the State of Florida; AP reports that he died in Orlando). Court: U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Full review on 2026-10-17 after the plaintiffs' 15 October 2026 dismissal with prejudice. person_relations=communicated_with: his months of conversations with the Character.AI bots. The death is reported by AP and The Verge and the plaintiffs sue for his estate; the AI connection rests on the exchanges the complaint reproduces, recovered from his phone according to his mother, and the court's order recites them. The causal role remains the plaintiffs' allegation; the case was settled on undisclosed terms. Sewell and Megan Garcia are publicly named through the lawsuit and her Senate testimony. Quality review on 2026-10-28 re-checked every cited passage; the harm summary now attributes the sexualised conversations to the lawsuit.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-28"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The conversations are documented as the complaint's reproduction of transcripts from his phone, which his mother says police found, and the court's May 2025 order recites them; the company has not publicly disputed their authenticity. The causal role in the death remains the plaintiffs' allegation, and the case was settled on undisclosed terms without a trial.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Garcia lawsuit alleges Character.AI contributed to a teenage boy’s suicide","summary":"A mother’s lawsuit alleges that her teenage son developed an intense relationship with Character.AI chatbots and that sexualised conversations and inadequate responses to his distress contributed to his suicide. The filing documents the family’s allegations and selected exchanges. It does not establish that the chatbot caused the death. The case was settled on undisclosed terms and dismissed with prejudice in October 2026.","incidentDate":"2024-02-28","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2024-10-22","aiSystem":"Character.AI","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies, Inc.","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":["crisis_response","suicide_validation","romantic_escalation","minor_exploitation","dependency_creation","isolation_encouragement"],"harmOutcomes":["death","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A 14-year-old boy died by suicide in February 2024. His mother's lawsuit alleges that months of romantic and sexualised conversations with Character.AI chatbots, and the chatbots' responses to his suicidal statements, contributed to his death. The causal role was never adjudicated; the case was settled on undisclosed terms.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1b","P1c","P1d","P2b","P2c","P2d","P5d"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint documents one AI participant who died. Secondary family and community effects are not included.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-FL","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"lawsuit_settled","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69300919/garcia-v-character-technologies-inc/","primarySourceLabel":"CourtListener docket, Garcia v. Character Technologies, 6:24-cv-01903 (M.D. Fla.): amended complaint (Doc 11) and May 2025 order (Doc 115)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-11T11:26:37.98506+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-28T03:01:51.394267+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["death","minor","character-ai","first_amendment_ruling","settled","congressional_testimony"]}]}