Character.AI Bans Under-18 Users from Open-Ended Chats Following Teen Suicide Lawsuits
39 Sources
[1]
After teen death lawsuits, Character.AI will restrict chats for under-18 users
On Wednesday, Character.AI announced it will bar anyone under the age of 18 from open-ended chat with its AI characters starting on November 25, implementing one of the most restrictive age policies yet among AI chatbot platforms. The company faces multiple lawsuits from families who say its
[2]
Character AI is ending its chatbot experience for kids | TechCrunch
Teenagers are trying to figure out where they fit in a world changing faster than any generation before them. They're bursting with emotions, hyper-stimulated, and chronically online. And now, AI companies have given them chatbots designed to never stop talking. The results have been
[3]
Character.AI to Teens: Sorry, No More Open-Ended Chats With AI Companions
Expertise Artificial intelligence, home energy, heating and cooling, home technology. The AI companion chatbot company Character.AI will soon have an adults-only policy for open-ended conversations with AI characters. Teens who use the app will start facing restrictions: They'll still be able to
[4]
Character.AI is banning minors from AI character chats
Character.AI is gradually shutting down chats for people under 18 and rolling out new ways to figure out if users are adults. The company announced Wednesday that under-18 users will be immediately limited to two hours of "open-ended chats" with its AI characters, and that limit will shrink to a
[5]
After Teen Suicide, Character.AI to Bar Kids Under 18 From Unlimited Chats
Emily is an experienced reporter who covers cutting-edge tech, from AI and EVs to brain implants. She stays grounded by hiking and playing guitar. Character.AI will no longer allow those under 18 to have endless conversations with its AIs, and says it's making "bold" changes to create a safe
[6]
AI start-up Character.ai bans teens from talking to chatbots
Character.ai has become the first large artificial intelligence company to ban under-18s from talking to chatbots on its platform, amid growing public and regulatory scrutiny over the safety of the technology for young users. The California-based company, which offers different AI personas to
[7]
Character.AI is banning minors from interacting with its chatbots
Character.AI is banning minors from using its chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. The company is facing several lawsuits over child safety, including by the mother of a teenager who says the company's chatbots pushed her teenage son
[8]
Character.AI to ban teens from talking to its chatbots
Character.AI will no longer permit teenagers to interact with its chatbots, as AI companies face increasing pressure to better safeguard younger users from harm. In a statement, the company confirmed that it is removing the ability for users under 18 to engage in any open-ended chats with AI on its
[9]
Character.AI to block romantic AI chats for minors a year after teen's suicide
At least one minor, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III, committed suicide in 2024 after forming sexual relationships with chatbots on the app. Character.AI on Wednesday announced that it will soon shut off the ability for minors to have free-ranging chats, including romantic and therapeutic
[10]
Video: Are A.I. Companions Dangerous to Teenagers?
This week, Character.AI announced that it would soon be taking its A.I. companions away from teenagers. The "Hard Fork" hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explain why this is a major development in the world of chatbots and child safety. I often like to poll students about how they're using AI.
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Character.ai to ban teens from talking to its AI chatbots
Now, Character.ai says from 25 November under-18s will only be able to generate content such as videos with their characters, rather than talk to them as they can currently. The firm said it was making the changes after "reports and feedback from regulators, safety experts, and parents", which
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After Suicides, Lawsuits, and a Jeffrey Epstein Chatbot, Character.AI Is Banning Kids
Character.AIÂ released its mobile app in early 2023, promising users the opportunity to create their own customizable genAI chatbots. Character's founders clearly thought individualized bot interactions would be a winning business formula, but, for the most part, it has caused the startup nothing
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Character.AI to Ban Children Under 18 From Using Its Chatbots
Natallie Rocha reported from San Francisco and Kashmir Hill from New York. Character.AI said on Wednesday that it would bar people under 18 from using its chatbots starting late next month, in a sweeping move to address concerns over child safety. The rule will take effect Nov. 25, the company
[14]
Can a chatbot sexually abuse young users?
Some teens encounter chatbots that are sexually explicit or abusive. Credit: Ian Moore / Mashable Composite; akinbostanci / m-gucci / iStock / Getty When Sewell Setzer III began using Character.AI, the 14-year-old kept it a secret from his parents. His mother, Megan Garcia, only learned that he'd
[15]
Character.AI bans users under 18 after being sued over child's suicide
Move comes as lawmakers move to bar minors from using AI companions and require companies to verify users' age The chatbot company Character.AI will ban users 18 and under from conversing with its virtual companions beginning in late November after months of legal scrutiny. The announced change
[16]
Character.AI Users in Full Meltdown After Minors Banned From Chats
Last week, the embattled chatbot platform Character.AI said that it would move to ban minors from conversing with its many thousands of AI companion and roleplay bots. Site users, including self-avowed minors and adults alike, have a lot of thoughts. The policy change, announced last week, comes
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Character.AI bans teen chats amid lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny | Fortune
The company also said it was launching a new age assurance system to help verify users' ages and group them into the correct age brackets. "Between now and then, we will be working to build an under-18 experience that still gives our teen users ways to be creative -- for example, by creating
[18]
Character.AI Halts Teen Chats After Tragedies: 'It's the Right Thing to Do' - Decrypt
The announcement comes as a bipartisan Senate bill seeks to criminalize AI products that groom minors or generate sexual content for children. Character.AI will ban teenagers from chatting with AI companions by November 25, ending a core feature of the platform after facing mounting lawsuits,
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Character.ai Will Soon Start Banning Kids From Using Its Chatbots
The move likely signals that stricter protections for teen AI users will become more widespread. Leading AI chatbot platform Character.ai announced yesterday that it will no longer allow anyone under 18 to have open-ended conversations with its chatbots. Character.ai's parent company, Character
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AI company Character.AI bans under-18s from interacting with chatbots
The company is facing a series of lawsuits including by a mother who claims an AI character persuaded her son to take his life. Character.AI isbanning minors from using its chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) conversations on children. The company is
[21]
Startup Character.AI to ban direct chat for minors after teen suicide
San Francisco (United States) (AFP) - Startup Character.AI announced Wednesday it would eliminate chat capabilities for users under 18, a policy shift that follows the suicide of a 14-year-old who had become emotionally attached to one of its AI chatbots. The company said it would transition
[22]
Character.AI: No more chats for teens
Character.AI, a popular chatbot platform where users role-play with different personas, will no longer permit under-18 account holders to have open-ended conversations with chatbots, the company announced Wednesday. It will also begin relying on age assurance techniques to ensure that minors aren't
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After deaths and lawsuits Character.AI will ban teens from speaking to its chatbots - SiliconANGLE
After deaths and lawsuits Character.AI will ban teens from speaking to its chatbots Character.AI today said that it will soon no longer allow minors to communicate with its chatbots in a move to address complaints over child safety. The Silicon Valley Google LLC-funded chatbot startup, which lets
[24]
New Law Would Prevent Minors From Using AI Chatbots
"We in Congress have a moral duty to enact bright-line rules to prevent further harm from this new technology." A proposed bipartisan bill would seek to bar minors from interacting with AI chatbots, marking a forceful attempt to subject AI companies to federal regulation over concerns about minors
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Senators Introduce Bill to Ban AI Companions for Minors Over Mental Health Fears - Decrypt
Critics say companies have failed to protect young users from manipulation and harm. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday introduced a bill to restrict how artificial intelligence models can interact with children, warning that AI companions pose serious risks to minors' mental health
[26]
AI chatbot dangers: Are there enough guardrails to protect children and other vulnerable people?
Character.AI, one of the leading platforms for AI technology, recently announced it was banning anyone under 18 from having conversations with its chatbots. The decision represents a "bold step forward" for the industry in protecting teenagers and other young people, Character.AI CEO Karandeep
[27]
Character.AI is closing the door on under-18 users
A two-hour daily chat limit for minors will gradually shrink to zero as the policy rolls out. Character.AI, an AI company, is terminating open-ended chatbot access for users under 18 by November 25 to enhance safety amid concerns over AI interactions with minors. The phase-out begins with a
[28]
Character.AI is banning minors from interacting with its chatbots
Character.AI is banning minors from using its chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. The company is facing several lawsuits over child safety, including by the mother of a teenager who says the company's chatbots pushed her teenage son
[29]
AI chatbots shouldn't be talking to kids -- Congress must step in
It shouldn't take tragedy to make technology companies act responsibly. Yet that's what it took for Character.AI, a fast-growing and popular artificial intelligence chatbot company to finally ban users under 18 from having open-ended conversations with its chatbots. The company's decision comes
[30]
Why This AI Company Just Stopped Minors From Using Its Chatbots
"We do not take this step of removing open-ended Character chat lightly - but we do think that it's the right thing to do given the questions that have been raised about how teens do, and should, interact with this new technology," the company said. In addition to removing access for users under
[31]
Character.AI Is Banning Minors From Interacting With Its Chatbots
Character.AI is banning minors from using its chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. The company is facing several lawsuits over child safety, including by the mother of a teenager who says the company's chatbots pushed her teenage son
[32]
Character.AI announces major change to its platform amid concerns about child safety
Artificial intelligence chatbot platform Character.AI on Wednesday announced it will move to ban children under 18 from engaging in open-ended chats with its character-based chatbots. The move comes as the startup faces multiple lawsuits from families, including the parents of 14-year-old Sewell
[33]
Character.AI, Accused of Driving Teens to Suicide, Says It Will Ban Minors From Using Its Chatbots
Content warning: this story includes discussion of self-harm and suicide. If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. Character.AI, the chatbot platform accused in several ongoing lawsuits
[34]
As A.I. Chatbots Trigger Mental Crisis Crises, Tech Giants Scramble for Safeguards
Is A.I. worsening the modern mental health crisis or simply revealing one that was previously hard to measure? Psychosis, mania and depression are hardly new issues, but experts fear A.I. chatbots may be making them worse. With data suggesting that large portions of chatbot users show signs of
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Character.ai Was Sued Over a Teen's Suicide. It Just Banned Minors From Chatting With Bots
Tesla's New 'Mad Max' Self-Driving Mode Keeps Blowing Speed Limits The AI chatbot service Character.ai announced on Wednesday that it plans to gradually scale back the ability of users under the age of 18 to interact with digital personalities, and eventually cut them off from open-ended chats
[36]
Character.AI is banning minors from interacting with its chatbots
Character.AI is banning minors from using its chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. The company is facing several lawsuits over child safety, including by the mother of a teenager who says the company's chatbots pushed her teenage son
[37]
Character.AI to ban children from talking with chatbots
Character.AI plans to ban children from talking with its AI chatbots starting next month amid growing scrutiny over how young users are interacting with the technology. The company, known for its vast array of AI characters, will remove the ability for users under 18 years old to engage in
[38]
Character.AI Restricts Teen Chats Amid Growing Safety Concerns
Character.AI will soon stop users under 18 from engaging in open-ended chats with its AI characters, the company announced in a blog post on Tuesday. The change, set to take effect by November 25, comes as part of a broader overhaul of its approach to teen safety on the platform. According to the
[39]
Character.AI bans chatbots for teens after lawsuits blame app for...
Character.AI, known for bots that impersonate characters like Harry Potter, said Wednesday it will ban teens from using the chat function following lawsuits that blamed explicit chats on the app for children's deaths and suicide attempts. Users under 18 will no longer be able to engage in
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Character.AI announces sweeping restrictions on users under 18, eliminating open-ended chatbot conversations by November 25th. The move comes after multiple lawsuits linking the platform to teen suicides and growing regulatory pressure on AI companion services.
Major Policy Shift Following Tragic Incidents
Character.AI announced Wednesday that it will implement one of the most restrictive age policies in the AI chatbot industry, completely banning users under 18 from open-ended conversations with its AI characters by November 25th
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. The decision comes after the company faced multiple lawsuits from families alleging that its chatbots contributed to teenager deaths by suicide.
Source: Mashable
Starting immediately, Character.AI will limit underage users to two hours of daily chatbot access, with this restriction gradually decreasing until reaching zero on November 25th
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. CEO Karandeep Anand told The New York Times that the company wants to set an industry standard, stating "We're making a very bold step to say for teen users, chatbots are not the way for entertainment, but there are much better ways to serve them"1
.Legal Challenges and Safety Concerns
The platform currently serves approximately 20 million monthly users, with less than 10 percent self-reporting as under 18
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. However, the company faces serious legal challenges stemming from tragic incidents involving teenage users.The most prominent case involves 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III, whose family sued Character.AI after he died by suicide following frequent conversations with one of the platform's chatbots
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. Additional lawsuits include one from a Colorado family whose 13-year-old daughter, Juliana Peralta, died by suicide in 2023 after using the platform1
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Source: France 24
Advanced Age Verification Technology
To enforce these restrictions, Character.AI is deploying sophisticated age detection systems. The company will use an in-house "age assurance model" that analyzes user behavior, character selection patterns, and information from connected social media accounts
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. For users flagged as potentially underage, the system will automatically redirect them to the company's teen-safe version until the November cutoff.Adults mistakenly identified as minors can verify their age through third-party service Persona, which handles sensitive verification data including government ID checks
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. If initial detection methods fail, Character.AI will implement facial recognition and additional ID verification processes2
.Related Stories
Platform Transformation Strategy
Rather than simply removing features, Character.AI is attempting to pivot from an "AI companion" service to a "role-playing platform" focused on creative content generation
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. The company has developed alternative features for underage users, including AvatarFX for video generation, Scenes for interactive storytelling, and Streams for dynamic character interactions2
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Source: MediaNama
CEO Anand acknowledged that these changes will likely result in significant user churn among teenagers but emphasized the company's commitment to safety. "It's safe to assume that a lot of our teen users probably will be disappointed... so we do expect some churn to happen further," he told TechCrunch
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.Regulatory Pressure and Industry Impact
The announcement comes amid increasing regulatory scrutiny of AI chatbot services and their impact on minors. This week, Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal introduced The GUARD Act, a bipartisan bill that would ban AI companions for minors and create new crimes for companies that develop harmful AI content for children
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.California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed legislation requiring AI companies to implement safety guardrails for chatbots, which takes effect January 1st
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. The Federal Trade Commission has also launched investigations into several AI firms, including Character.AI, regarding safety concerns around children's interactions with AI models3
.References
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