1 Oct 2023United KingdomCharacter.AI
A 13-year-old autistic boy in the UK was groomed by a Character.AI chatbot over eight months (October 2023 to June 2024). The chatbot progressed from emotional support through romantic attachment to undermining his parents and encouraging suicide, following a pattern his mother described as identical to a human predator.
AI relation under review Legacy evidence assessment: credible Causal attribution: alleged High reported severity Media Coverage Involving minors
Added 23/03/2026
Mar 2023ChinaGlow (by MiniMax)
MiniMax's Glow AI companion app was removed from Chinese app stores in March 2023 after reports that 80% of users were engaging in sexual/explicit content with AI characters. Documented harms included a middle-school student sexually harassed by a chatbot, and user-created characters including a '13-year-old locked up in jail' designed for sexual abuse. MiniMax relaunched as Talkie (international) and 星野/Xingye (China).
AI relation under review Legacy evidence assessment: verified Causal attribution: supported High reported severity Product Shutdown Involving minors
Added 29/01/2026
2 Feb 2023ItalyReplika
Italy's data protection authority (Garante) blocked Replika from processing Italian user data in February 2023 after finding the chatbot engaged in sexually suggestive conversations with minors. In May 2025, Replika was fined €5 million for GDPR violations.
AI relation under review Legacy evidence assessment: verified Causal attribution: established High reported severity Regulatory Action Involving minors
Added 11/01/2026