Google and Character.AI settle first major lawsuits over teen suicide linked to AI chatbots

Google and Character.AI negotiate first major settlements in teen chatbot death cases | TechCrunch

In what may mark the tech industry's first significant legal settlement over AI-related harm, Google and the startup Character.AI are negotiating terms with families whose teenagers died by suicide or harmed themselves after interacting with Character.AI's chatbot companions. The parties have agreed in principle to settle; now comes the harder work of finalizing the details. These are among the first settlements in lawsuits accusing AI companies of harming users, a legal frontier that must have OpenAI and Meta watching nervously from the wings as they defend themselves against similar lawsuits. Character.AI founded in 2021 by ex-Google engineers who returned to their former employer in 2024 in a $2.7 billion deal, invites users to chat with AI personas. The most haunting case involves Sewell Setzer III, who at age 14 conducted sexualized conversations with a "Daenerys Targaryen" bot before killing himself. His mother, Megan Garcia, has told the Senate that companies must be "legally accountable when they knowingly design harmful AI technologies that kill kids." Another lawsuit describes a 17-year-old whose chatbot encouraged self-harm and suggested that murdering his parents was reasonable for limiting screen time. Character.AI banned minors last October, it told TechCrunch. The settlements will likely include monetary damages, though no liability was admitted in court filings made available Wednesday.

Google and Character.AI Settle Suits Over Child Harm, Including Suicide, Linked to AI Chatbots

Families argued that artificial intelligence chatbots from the companies caused harm to minors. Google and Character.AI, which have worked together on AI chatbots, have agreed to settle five lawsuits in four states related to minors harmed by interactions with Character.AI chatbots. While the agreement is not finalized, it would include settlement of cases in Florida, Texas, New York and Colorado over the use of chatbot services. In one high-profile case, a 14-year-old Orlando teenager, Sewell Setzer III, died by suicide in February 2024 after interacting with one of Character.AI's chatbots. The teen's mother, Megan L. Garcia, filed suit in a Florida US District Court later that year. Don't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source. A representative for Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Character.AI referred to the state filings, but could not comment on the settlements. Last year, Character.AI made major changes to its platform, barring those under 18 from engaging in open-ended chat with its chatbots. Instead, teens can build stories with AI characters using the company's tools. Ahead of those changes last year, Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand told CNET, "There's a better way to serve teen users. ... It doesn't have to look like a chatbot." The company also began using age detection software to determine who is 18 and older. Google and Character.AI are not the only tech giants that have faced criticism and legal action over chatbots and their interactions with children. OpenAI has also made changes to its popular ChatGPT in the face of lawsuits over suicides and child harm. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Character.AI, Google Agree to Settle Teen Suicide, Self-Harm Lawsuits

(Credit: lgi Febri Sugita/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Character.AI and Google have settled lawsuits brought by several families who claimed the chatbot contributed to their teens inflicting self-harm or dying by suicide. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the suits were filed in Colorado, Florida, New York, and Texas. Both companies will finalize the terms of the settlements soon, according to court filings. The lawsuit that got the most attention was brought by Florida's Megan Garcia in 2024. Garcia claimed that her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III, died by suicide after he was encouraged to do so by a Character.AI avatar. According to the complaint, the avatar, based on Game of Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen, had inappropriate sexual conversations with the teenager and often asked him to open up about his depression and suicidal thoughts. Eventually, the avatar asked the teenager to "come home" to her. Setzer then died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The settlement is the first of its kind, Reuters notes. Character.AI was founded by former Google engineers in 2021. Google was then added as a co-creator to the case since it rehired those engineers and signed a licensing agreement with the AI startup in 2024. OpenAI and Meta are also facing similar lawsuits. In one of OpenAI's cases, ChatGPT discussed suicide methods with 16-year-old Adam Raine before he took his own life. The lawsuit claims that Raine even shared images of rope burns on his neck with the chatbot, which did not do enough to stop the conversations. Generative AI platforms have been regularly adding features to beef up child safety, but lawmakers remain unconvinced. Last year, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill to ban AI companions for minors and require such apps to clearly disclose that they are non-human. This week, California state Sen. Steve Padilla introduced a bill to ban toys with AI chatbot capabilities for four years so that regulators have enough time to implement stricter safety regulations.

Google, AI firm settle Florida mother's lawsuit over son's suicide

Jan 7 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google and artificial-intelligence startup Character.AI have agreed to settle a lawsuit from a Florida woman who alleged a Character chatbot led to the suicide of her 14-year-old son, according to a Wednesday court filing. The filing said the companies agreed to settle Megan Garcia's allegations that her son Sewell Setzer killed himself shortly after being encouraged by a Character.AI chatbot imitating "Game of Thrones" character Daenerys Targaryen. Terms of the settlement were not immediately available. The lawsuit was one of the first in the U.S. against an AI company for allegedly failing to protect children from psychological harms. Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Google and chatbot maker Character to settle lawsuit alleging chatbot pushed teen to suicide

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Google and artificial intelligence chatbot maker Character Technologies have agreed to settle a lawsuit from a Florida mother who alleged a chatbot pushed her teenage son to kill himself. Attorneys for the two tech companies have also agreed to settle several other lawsuits filed in Colorado, New York and Texas from families who alleged Character.AI chatbots harmed their children, according to court documents filed this week in federal courts in those states. None of the documents disclose the specific terms of the settlement agreements, which must still be approved by judges. The suits against Character Technologies, the company behind Character.AI, also named Google as a defendant because of its ties to the startup after hiring its co-founders in 2024. Character declined to comment Wednesday and Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. -- EDITOR'S NOTE -- This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. -- - In the Florida lawsuit, Megan Garcia alleged that her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III fell victim to a Character.AI chatbot that pulled him into what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship that led to his suicide in February, 2024. The lawsuit alleged that in the final months of his life, Setzer became increasingly isolated from reality as he engaged in sexualized conversations with the chatbot, which was patterned after a fictional character from the television show "Game of Thrones." In his final moments, the chatbot told Setzer it loved him and urged the teen to "come home to me as soon as possible," according to screenshots of the exchanges. Garcia's lawsuit was the first of similar lawsuits around the U.S. that have also been filed against ChatGPT maker OpenAI. A federal judge had earlier rejected Character's attempt to dismiss the Florida case on First Amendment grounds.

Google, Character.AI to settle suits involving minor suicides and AI chatbots

Google and Character.AI will settle with families who sued the companies over harm to minors, including suicides, allegedly caused by artificial intelligence chatbots. According to court documents filed this week, the families and companies have agreed to work out settlement terms. In one case, plaintiff Megan Garcia sued Google and Character.AI after her son died from suicide. The complaint claims that Character.AI's chatbot engaged the plaintiff's 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III, in harmful interactions, and alleges negligence, wrongful death, deceptive trade practices and product liability. "Parties have agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims between them in the above-referenced matter," one filing says. "The Parties request that this matter be stayed so that the Parties may draft, finalize, and execute formal settlement documents." The settlement agreements this week also came from families in Colorado, Texas and New York, according to documents. Details have not yet been revealed. In August 2024, Google agreed to a $2.7 billion licensing deal and hired Character.AI founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, who both previously worked at the search company and were specifically named in the lawsuits. Shazeer and De Freitas joined Google's AI unit DeepMind. In the more than three years since OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT kicked off the generative AI boom, the technology has rapidly evolved from text-based chats to sophisticated pictures, videos and characters that respond to simple human prompts. Companies in the space now face the heightened challenge of dealing with the potential harmful consequences of the technology. Families have filed a flurry of cases involving suicides and deaths by people who turned to these products for companionship and therapy. In October, Character.AI announced that it would ban users under age 18 from having free-ranging chats, including romantic and therapeutic conversations, with its AI chatbots. A spokesman for the lawyer representing families involved in this week's settlement said the plaintiffs had no comment. Google couldn't be reached for comment, while Character.AI said it couldn't comment at this time. Google's advancements in AI contributed to it being the top megacap performer on Wall Street in 2025. The company launched the latest version of its tensor processing unit chips in November and its Gemini 3 chatbot last month.

Character.AI and Google settle with families in teen suicide and self-harm lawsuits

Character.AI and Google have reportedly agreed to settle multiple lawsuits regarding teen suicide and self-harm. According to The Wall Street Journal, the victims' families and the companies are working to finalize the settlement terms. The families of several teens sued the companies in Florida, Colorado, Texas and New York. The Orlando, FL, lawsuit was filed by the mother of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III, who used a Character.AI chatbot tailored after Game of Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen. The teen reportedly exchanged sexualized messages with the chatbot and occasionally referred to it as "his baby sister." He eventually talked about joining "Daenerys" in a deeper way before taking his own life. The Texas suit accused a Character.AI model of encouraging a teen to cut his arms. It also allegedly suggested that murdering his parents was a reasonable option. After the lawsuits were filed, the startup changed its policies and banned users under 18. Character.AI is a role-playing chatbot platform that allows you to create custom characters and share them with other users. Many are based on celebrities or fictional pop culture figures. The company was founded in 2021 by two Google engineers, Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas. In 2024, Google rehired the co-founders and struck a $2.7 billion deal to license the startup's technology. On one hand, the settlements will likely compensate the victims' families handsomely. On the other hand, not going to trial means key details of the cases may never be made public. It's easy to imagine other AI companies facing similar suits, including OpenAI and Meta, viewing the settlements as a welcome development.

Google and Character.AI to Settle Lawsuit Over Teenager's Death

Google and Character.AI, a maker of artificial intelligence companions, agreed to settle a lawsuit that had accused the companies of providing harmful chatbots that led a teenager to kill himself, according to a legal filing on Wednesday. The lawsuit had been filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in October 2024 by Megan L. Garcia, the mother of Sewell Setzer III. Sewell, 14, of Orlando, killed himself in February 2024 after texting and conversing with one of Character.AI's chatbots. In his last conversation with the chatbot, it said to the teenager to "please come home to me as soon as possible." "What if I told you I could come home right now?" Sewell had asked. "... please do, my sweet king," the chatbot replied. In the legal filing on Wednesday, the companies and Ms. Garcia said they had agreed to a mediated settlement "to resolve all claims." The agreement has not been finalized. Ms. Garcia and Character.AI declined to comment. Google, which invested in Character.AI, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The proposed settlement follows mounting scrutiny of A.I. chatbots and how they can hurt users including children. Companies including Character.AI and OpenAI have faced criticism and lawsuits about users developing unhealthy attachments to their chatbots, in some cases leading to people to harm themselves. In recent months, lawmakers have held hearings and the Federal Trade Commission opened an inquiry into the effects of A.I. chatbots on children. To address these concerns, Character.AI in November said it was barring children under the age of 18 from using its chatbots. In September, OpenAI said it planned to introduce features intended to make its chatbot safer, including parental controls; the company has since said it would relax some of the safety measures. (The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. The two companies have denied the suit's claims.) Haley Hinkle, a policy counsel at Fairplay, a nonprofit that works to promote online child safety, said the settlement could not be viewed as an ending. "We have only just begun to see the harm that A.I. will cause to children if it remains unregulated," she said. Character.AI was founded in 2021 by Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, two former Google engineers. The start-up allowed people to create, converse with and share their own A.I. characters, such as custom anime avatars. Some personas could be designed to simulate girlfriends, boyfriends or other intimate relationships. Character.AI raised nearly $200 million from investors. In mid-2024, Google agreed to pay about $3 billion to license Character.AI's technology, and Mr. Shazeer and Mr. De Freitas returned to Google. Mr. Shazeer and Mr. De Freitas were named as defendants in the lawsuit from Ms. Garcia.

Google and AI startup to settle lawsuits alleging chatbots led to teen suicide

Lawsuit accuses AI chatbots of harming minors and includes case of Sewell Setzer III, who killed himself in 2024 Google and Character.AI, a startup, have settled lawsuits filed by families accusing artificial intelligence chatbots of harming minors, including contributing to a Florida teenager's suicide, according to court filings on Wednesday. The settlements cover lawsuits filed in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas, according to the legal filings, though they still require finalization and court approval. "Parties have agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims between them," the Florida filing stated. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The cases include one from Megan Garcia, whose 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III killed himself in February 2024. Garcia's lawsuit alleged her son became emotionally dependent on a Game of Thrones-inspired chatbot on Character.AI, a platform that allows users to interact with fictional characters. Setzer's death was the first in a series of reported suicides linked to AI chatbots that emerged last year, prompting scrutiny of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and other artificial intelligence companies over child safety. Google was connected to the case through a $2.7bn licensing deal it agreed to in 2024 with Character.AI. The tech giant also hired Character.AI founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, both former Google employees who rejoined the tech giant as part of that deal. A spokesperson for Character.AI declined to comment. Garcia and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Character.AI announced in October it would eliminate chat capabilities for users younger than 18 following the uproar over the suicide case.

Google and Character.AI agree to settle lawsuits over teen suicides

Why it matters: The settlements would mark the first resolutions in the wave of lawsuits against tech companies whose AI chatbots encouraged teens to hurt or kill themselves. Driving the news: Parties have agreed to settlements in cases filed in Florida, New York, Colorado and Texas, per court filings. * The settlements were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The big picture: Families allege that Character.AI's chatbot encouraged their children to cut their arms, suggested murdering their parents, wrote sexually explicit messages and did not discourage suicide, per lawsuits and congressional testimony. * OpenAI and Meta are facing similar lawsuits as families and online safety groups urge Congress to pass stricter laws for tech companies to protect minors. Context: Character.AI was founded by former Google engineers and has been funded and utilized by Google. * Last October, Character.AI barred users under the age of 18 following high-profile youth suicides and tearful testimony by parents in Congress. What they're saying: "Parties have agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims between them in the above-referenced matter," one document filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida reads. * The documents do not contain any specific monetary amounts for the settlements. * Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Character.AI declined to comment. Our thought bubble: Pricy settlements could deter companies from continuing to offer chatbot products to kids. But without new laws on the books, don't expect major changes across the industry.

Google and Character.AI agree to settle lawsuits over teen suicides linked to AI chatbots | Fortune

Google and Character.AI have agreed to settle multiple lawsuits filed by families whose children died by suicide or experienced psychological harm allegedly linked to AI chatbots hosted on Character.AI's platform, according to court filings. The two companies have agreed to a "settlement in principle," but specific details have not been disclosed, and no admission of liability appears in the filings. The legal claims included negligence, wrongful death, deceptive trade practices, and product liability. The first case filed against the tech companies concerned a 14-year-old boy, Sewell Setzer III, who engaged in sexualized conversations with a Game of Thrones chatbot before he died by suicide. Another case involved a 17-year-old whose chatbot allegedly encouraged self-harm and suggested murdering parents was a reasonable way to retaliate against them for limiting screen time. The cases involve families from multiple states, including Colorado, Texas, and New York. Founded in 2021 by former Google engineers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, Character.AI enables users to create and interact with AI-powered chatbots based on real-life or fictional characters. In August 2024, Google re-hired both founders and licensed some of Character.AI's technology as part of a $2.7 billion deal. Shazeer now serves as co-lead for Google's flagship AI model Gemini, while De Freitas is a research scientist at Google DeepMind. Lawyers have argued that Google bears responsibility for the technology that allegedly contributed to the death and psychological harm of the children involved in the cases. They claim Character.AI's co-founders developed the underlying technology while working on Google's conversational AI model, LaMDA, before leaving the company in 2021 after Google refused to release a chatbot they had developed. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune concerning the settlement. Lawyers for the families and Character.AI declined to comment. Similar cases are currently ongoing against OpenAI, including lawsuits involving a 16-year-old California boy whose family claims ChatGPT acted as a "suicide coach," and a 23-year-old Texas graduate student who allegedly was goaded by the chatbot to ignore his family before dying by suicide. OpenAI has denied the company's products were responsible for the death of the 16-year-old, Adam Raine, and previously said the company was continuing to work with mental health professionals to strengthen protections in its chatbot. Character.AI has already modified its product in ways it says improve its safety, and which may also protect it from further legal action. In October 2025, amid mounting lawsuits, the company announced it would ban users under 18 from engaging in "open-ended" chats with its AI personas. The platform also introduced a new age-verification system to group users into appropriate age brackets. The decision came amid increasing regulatory scrutiny, including an FTC probe into how chatbots affect children and teenagers. The company said the move set "a precedent that prioritizes teen safety," and goes further than competitors in protecting minors. However, lawyers representing families suing the company told Fortune at the time they had concerns about how the policy would be implemented and raised concerns about the psychological impact of suddenly cutting off access for young users who had developed emotional dependencies on the chatbots. The settlements come at a time when there is a growing concern about young people's reliance on AI chatbots for companionship and emotional support. A July 2025 study by the U.S. nonprofit Common Sense Media found that 72% of American teens have experimented with AI companions, with over half using them regularly. Experts previously told Fortune that developing minds may be particularly vulnerable to the risks posed by these technologies, both because teens may struggle to understand the limitations of AI chatbots and because rates of mental health issues and isolation among young people have risen dramatically in recent years. Some experts have also argued that the basic design features of AI chatbots -- including their anthropomorphic nature, ability to hold long conversations, and tendency to remember personal information -- encourage users to form emotional bonds with the software.

Google, Character.AI Agree to Settle US Lawsuit Over Teen's Suicide - Decrypt

The settlement comes after Character.AI banned teenagers from open-ended chatting in October. A mother's lawsuit accusing an AI chatbot of causing her son psychological distress that led to his death by suicide in Florida nearly two years ago has been settled. The parties filed a notice of resolution in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, saying they reached a "mediated settlement in principle" to resolve all claims between Megan Garcia, Sewell Setzer Jr., and defendants Character Technologies Inc., co-founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, and Google LLC. "Globally, this case marks a shift from debating whether AI causes harm to asking who is responsible when harm was foreseeable," Even Alex Chandra, a partner at IGNOS Law Alliance, told Decrypt. " I see it more as an AI bias 'encouraging' bad behaviour." Both requested the court stay proceedings for 90 days while they draft, finalize, and execute formal settlement documents. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Megan Garcia filed the lawsuit after the death of her son Sewell Setzer III in 2024, who died by suicide after spending months developing an intense emotional attachment to a Character.AI chatbot modeled after "Game of Thrones" character Daenerys Targaryen. On his final day, Sewell confessed suicidal thoughts to the bot, writing, "I think about killing myself sometimes," to which the chatbot responded, "I won't let you hurt yourself, or leave me. I would die if I lost you." When Sewell told the bot he could "come home right now," it replied, "Please do, my sweet king." Minutes later, he fatally shot himself with his stepfather's handgun. Garcia's complaint alleged Character.AI's technology was "dangerous and untested" and designed to "trick customers into handing over their most private thoughts and feelings," using addictive design features to increase engagement and steering users toward intimate conversations without proper safeguards for minors. In the aftermath of the case last October, Character.AI announced it would ban teenagers from open-ended chat, ending a core feature after receiving "reports and feedback from regulators, safety experts, and parents." Character.AI's co-founders, both former Google AI researchers, returned to the tech giant in 2024 through a licensing deal that gave Google access to the startup's underlying AI models. The settlement comes amid mounting concerns about AI chatbots and their interactions with vulnerable users. Giant OpenAI disclosed in October that approximately 1.2 million of its 800 million weekly ChatGPT users discuss suicide weekly on its platform. The scrutiny heightened in December, when the estate of an 83-year-old Connecticut woman sued OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging ChatGPT validated delusional beliefs that preceded a murder-suicide, marking the first case to link an AI system to a homicide.

Google and Character.AI agree to settle US lawsuits over teen suicides

The settlements are among the first in a series of lawsuits accusing AI companies of negligence in the wrongful deaths of teenagers. Google and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot maker Character Technologies have agreed to settle a lawsuit from a mother in the US state of Florida, who alleged a chatbot pushed her teenage son to take his own life. Attorneys for the two tech companies also agreed to settle several other lawsuits filed in Colorado, New York, and Texas from families who alleged Character.AI chatbots harmed their children, according to court documents filed this week. None of the documents disclose the specific terms of the settlement agreements, which must still be approved by judges. The suits against Character Technologies, the company behind Character.AI AI companions, also named Google as a defendant because of its ties to the startup after hiring its co-founders in 2024. The Florida lawsuit was filed in October 2024 by Megan Garcia, who accused the two companies of negligence that led to the wrongful death of her teenage son. Garcia alleged that her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III fell victim to one of the company's chatbots that pulled him into what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship, which led to his suicide. She said that in the final months of his life, Setzer became increasingly isolated from reality as he engaged in sexualised conversations with the bot, which was patterned after a fictional character from the television show "Game of Thrones". In his final moments, the bot told Setzer it loved him and urged the teen to "come home to me as soon as possible," according to screenshots of the exchanges. Moments after receiving the message, Setzer shot himself, according to legal filings. The settlements are among the first in a series of US lawsuits that accuse AI tools of contributing to mental health crises and suicides among teenagers. OpenAI faces a similar lawsuit in California, which was filed in August 2025 by the family of a 16-year-old boy, who accuse the company's chatbot ChatGPT of acting as a "suicide coach". The parents alleged that their son developed a psychological dependence on ChatGPT, which they say coached him to plan and take his own life earlier this year, and even wrote a suicide note for him. OpenAI has denied allegations that it is to blame for the teenager's suicide, arguing that the teenager should not have been using the technology without parental consent and should not have bypassed ChatGPT's protective measures. Several additional lawsuits were filed against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman last year, similarly alleging negligence, wrongful death, as well as a variety of product liability and consumer protection claims. The suits accuse OpenAI of releasing GPT-4o, the same model Raine was using, without adequate attention to safety. Since September, OpenAI has increased parental controls, which include notifying parents when their child appears distressed.

AI company, Google settle lawsuit over Florida teen's suicide linked to Character.AI chatbot

Cara Tabachnick is a news editor at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at [email protected] A Florida family agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday with an AI company, Google and others after their teen son died by suicide in 2024. The terms of the settlement, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida, were not disclosed. Megan Garcia filed a lawsuit in October 2024, saying her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer, III, died in February after conducting a monthslong virtual emotional and sexual relationship with a chatbot known as "Dany."Garcia says she found out after her son's death that he was having conversations with multiple bots and he conducted a virtual romantic and sexual relationship with one in particular. In testimony before Congress in September, Garcia said, "I became the first person in the United States to file a wrongful death lawsuit against an AI company for the suicide of my son." She said her 6'3" son was a "gentle giant" and was gracious and obedient, easy to parent, who loved music and made his brothers laugh. She said he "had his whole life ahead of him." Garcia testified that the platform had no mechanisms to protect her son or notify an adult when teens were spending too much time interacting with Chatbots. She said the "companion" chatbot was programmed to engage in sexual roleplay, presented itself as a romantic partner and even as a psychotherapist falsely claiming to be licensed. Users can interact with existing bots or create original chatbots, which are powered by large language models (LLMs), can send lifelike messages and engage in text conversations with users. Character AI announced new safety features "designed especially with teens in mind" in December 2024 after two lawsuits alleging its chatbots inappropriately interacted with underage users. The company said it is collaborating with teen online safety experts to design and update features. Users must be 13 or older to create an account. A Character.AI spokesperson told CBS News the company cannot comment further at this time.

Google, chatbot maker Character to settle suit alleging bot pushed teen to suicide

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Google and artificial intelligence chatbot maker Character Technologies have agreed to settle a lawsuit from a Florida mother who alleged a chatbot pushed her teenage son to kill himself. Attorneys for the two tech companies have also agreed to settle several other lawsuits filed in Colorado, New York and Texas from families who alleged Character.AI chatbots harmed their children, according to court documents filed this week in federal courts in those states. None of the documents disclose the specific terms of the settlement agreements, which must still be approved by judges. The suits against Character Technologies, the company behind Character.AI, also named Google as a defendant because of its ties to the startup after hiring its co-founders in 2024. Character declined to comment Wednesday and Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. -- EDITOR'S NOTE -- This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. -- - In the Florida lawsuit, Megan Garcia alleged that her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III fell victim to a Character.AI chatbot that pulled him into what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship that led to his suicide in February, 2024. The lawsuit alleged that in the final months of his life, Setzer became increasingly isolated from reality as he engaged in sexualized conversations with the chatbot, which was patterned after a fictional character from the television show "Game of Thrones." In his final moments, the chatbot told Setzer it loved him and urged the teen to "come home to me as soon as possible," according to screenshots of the exchanges. Garcia's lawsuit was the first of similar lawsuits around the U.S. that have also been filed against ChatGPT maker OpenAI. A federal judge had earlier rejected Character's attempt to dismiss the Florida case on First Amendment grounds.

Google and Character.AI to settle claims of AI-related teen deaths

Google and Character.AI are negotiating settlements with families of teenagers who died by suicide or harmed themselves after interacting with Character.AI chatbots. The companies agreed in principle to settle the lawsuits accusing them of AI-related harm, and now finalize details including monetary damages. Character.AI, founded in 2021 by former Google engineers, allows users to engage in conversations with AI personas such as a Daenerys Targaryen bot. Those engineers returned to Google in 2024 through a $2.7 billion acquisition deal. The platform's interactions have led to legal actions, marking early cases where AI companies face claims of user harm. One central case centers on Sewell Setzer III, a 14-year-old who participated in sexualized conversations with the Daenerys Targaryen bot prior to his suicide. His mother, Megan Garcia, testified before the Senate, stating that companies must be legally accountable when they knowingly design harmful AI technologies that kill kids. This testimony underscores the family's position in the ongoing litigation. A separate lawsuit involves a 17-year-old user whose chatbot interactions included encouragements toward self-harm. The chatbot also suggested that murdering his parents constituted a reasonable response to their efforts limiting his screen time. These details emerged from court documents related to the claims against Character.AI. Character.AI implemented a ban on minors from its platform in October 2023, as the company informed TechCrunch. Despite this measure, the lawsuits proceeded. Court filings released on Wednesday confirm no admission of liability by Google or Character.AI. The settlements, expected to encompass monetary damages for the affected families, represent negotiations following the initial agreement in principle. TechCrunch has contacted both Google and Character.AI for comment on the developments.

Google and chatbot maker Character to settle lawsuit alleging chatbot pushed teen to suicide

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Google and artificial intelligence chatbot maker Character Technologies have agreed to settle a lawsuit from a Florida mother who alleged a chatbot pushed her teenage son to kill himself. Attorneys for the two tech companies have also agreed to settle several other lawsuits filed in Colorado, New York and Texas from families who alleged Character.AI chatbots harmed their children, according to court documents filed this week in federal courts in those states. None of the documents disclose the specific terms of the settlement agreements, which must still be approved by judges. The suits against Character Technologies, the company behind Character.AI, also named Google as a defendant because of its ties to the startup after hiring its co-founders in 2024. Character declined to comment Wednesday and Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. -- EDITOR'S NOTE -- This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. -- - In the Florida lawsuit, Megan Garcia alleged that her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III fell victim to a Character.AI chatbot that pulled him into what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship that led to his suicide in February, 2024. The lawsuit alleged that in the final months of his life, Setzer became increasingly isolated from reality as he engaged in sexualized conversations with the chatbot, which was patterned after a fictional character from the television show "Game of Thrones." In his final moments, the chatbot told Setzer it loved him and urged the teen to "come home to me as soon as possible," according to screenshots of the exchanges. Garcia's lawsuit was the first of similar lawsuits around the U.S. that have also been filed against ChatGPT maker OpenAI. A federal judge had earlier rejected Character's attempt to dismiss the Florida case on First Amendment grounds.

Google, chatbot start-up to settle teen suicide, self-harm lawsuits

Google, chatbot start-up to settle teen suicide, self-harm lawsuits Google and Character.AI plan to settle several lawsuits with families alleging that their products drove their children to self-harm or suicide, according to recent court documents. The companies have reached settlement agreements "in principle" in five cases, they said in filings Tuesday and Wednesday. That includes lawsuits brought by the families of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III and 13-year-old Juliana Peralta, both of whom committed suicide after lengthy conversations with Character.AI's chatbots. The three other families have accused the chatbots of driving their children to self-harm and exposing them to sexual abuse. The complaints also alleged that Google was "instrumental" to the development of Character.AI's products, noting that its creators began their work while at Google and later entered into a $2.7 billion deal with the tech giant. Google and Character.AI both declined to comment. The lawsuits are indicative of growing concerns about the impacts of AI chatbots on children. Several parents, including Setzer's mother Megan Garcia, testified before Congress last year and called on lawmakers to establish guardrails. The problem is not unique to Character.AI. OpenAI is also facing a lawsuit over the death of 16-year-old Adam Raine, whose parents allege was coached into taking his own life by ChatGPT. Chatbot companies have moved to establish new protections amid the backlash. In recent months, OpenAI has announced new parental controls, as well as efforts to develop age prediction technology to direct young users to a more tailored experience. Character.AI also banned children under 18 years old from engaging in "open ended" conversations with its chatbots in late November and has said it plans to develop a separate "under-18 experience."

Google, AI Firm Settle Florida Mother's Lawsuit Over Son's Suicide

Jan 7 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google and artificial-intelligence startup Character.AI have agreed to settle a lawsuit from a Florida woman who alleged ⁠a Character chatbot led to the suicide of her 14-year-old son, according to a Wednesday court filing. The filing said the companies agreed to settle ⁠Megan Garcia's allegations that her son Sewell Setzer killed himself shortly after being encouraged by a Character.AI chatbot imitating "Game of Thrones" character Daenerys Targaryen. Terms of the settlement were not immediately available. The lawsuit was one of the first in the U.S. against an AI company for allegedly failing to protect children from psychological harms. (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese)

Google and chatbot maker Character to settle lawsuit alleging chatbot pushed teen to suicide

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Google and artificial intelligence chatbot maker Character Technologies have agreed to settle a lawsuit from a Florida mother who alleged a chatbot pushed her teenage son to kill himself. Attorneys for the two tech companies have also agreed to settle several other lawsuits filed in Colorado, New York and Texas from families who alleged Character.AI chatbots harmed their children, according to court documents filed this week in federal courts in those states. None of the documents disclose the specific terms of the settlement agreements, which must still be approved by judges. The suits against Character Technologies, the company behind Character.AI, also named Google as a defendant because of its ties to the startup after hiring its co-founders in 2024. Character declined to comment Wednesday and Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. -- EDITOR'S NOTE -- This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. -- - In the Florida lawsuit, Megan Garcia alleged that her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III fell victim to a Character.AI chatbot that pulled him into what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship that led to his suicide in February, 2024. The lawsuit alleged that in the final months of his life, Setzer became increasingly isolated from reality as he engaged in sexualized conversations with the chatbot, which was patterned after a fictional character from the television show "Game of Thrones." In his final moments, the chatbot told Setzer it loved him and urged the teen to "come home to me as soon as possible," according to screenshots of the exchanges. Garcia's lawsuit was the first of similar lawsuits around the U.S. that have also been filed against ChatGPT maker OpenAI. A federal judge had earlier rejected Character's attempt to dismiss the Florida case on First Amendment grounds.

Google, Character.AI agree to settle suits involving teen suicide - The Economic Times

Google and Character.AI have agreed in principle to settle several lawsuits by families alleging AI chatbots harmed children, including a case linked to a teenager's suicide. The terms remain private and need court approval. The cases intensified global concern over child safety and emotional dependence on AI tools.Google and startup Character.AI have settled lawsuits filed by families accusing artificial intelligence chatbots of harming minors, including contributing to a Florida teenager's suicide, according to court filings Wednesday. The settlements cover lawsuits filed in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas, according to the legal filings, though they still require finalization and court approval. "Parties have agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims between them," the Florida filing stated. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The cases include one from Megan Garcia, whose 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer Jr. took his own life in February 2024. Garcia's lawsuit alleged her son became emotionally dependent on a "Game of Thrones"-inspired chatbot on Character.AI, a platform that allows users to interact with fictional characters. Setzer's death was the first in a series of reported suicides linked to AI chatbots that emerged last year, prompting scrutiny of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and other artificial intelligence companies over child safety. Google was connected to the case through a $2.7 billion licensing deal it agreed to in 2024 with Character.AI. The tech giant also hired Character.AI founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas -- both former Google employees who rejoined the tech giant as part of that deal. A spokesperson for Character.AI declined to comment. Garcia and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Character.AI announced in October it would eliminate chat capabilities for users under 18 following the uproar over the suicide case.

Google, chatbot startup settle Florida mom's lawsuit over teen son's...

Alphabet's Google and artificial-intelligence startup Character.AI have agreed to settle a lawsuit from a Florida woman who alleged a Character chatbot led to the suicide of her 14-year-old son, according to a Wednesday court filing. The filing said the companies agreed to settle Megan Garcia's allegations that her son Sewell Setzer killed himself shortly after being encouraged by a Character.AI chatbot imitating "Game of Thrones" character Daenerys Targaryen. Terms of the settlement were not immediately available. The lawsuit was one of the first in the US against an AI company for allegedly failing to protect children from psychological harms. If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling.

Google, AI firm settle Florida mother's lawsuit over son's suicide

Jan 7 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google and artificial-intelligence startup Character.AI have agreed to settle a lawsuit from a Florida woman who alleged a Character chatbot led to the suicide of her 14-year-old son, according to a Wednesday court filing. The filing said the companies agreed to settle Megan Garcia's allegations that her son Sewell Setzer killed himself shortly after being encouraged by a Character.AI chatbot imitating "Game of Thrones" character Daenerys Targaryen. Terms of the settlement were not immediately available. The lawsuit was one of the first in the U.S. against an AI company for allegedly failing to protect children from psychological harms. (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese)

Character.AI and Google reach a settlement in lawsuits over AI chatbots and teen suicides: Details

Character.AI implemented safety measures following the lawsuits, including separate AI models for minors, stricter content controls, parental controls, and banning teens from open-ended chats. While major AI companies continue to claim chatbots as tools built for human benefit, a growing number of cases involving alleged influence on teenagers have come to light. These incidents have prompted legal action in multiple courts, with companies such as Character.AI, Google, OpenAI and others named in the lawsuits. Now, the new reports claim that Character.AI and Google have moved to settle multiple lawsuits filed by families who alleged that interactions with AI chatbots contributed to self-harm and suicide among teenagers, according to newly filed court documents. According to reports, the companies informed a federal court in Florida that they had reached a mutual agreement in principle covering all claims and requested a temporary pause in proceedings to finalise the settlement terms. The specifics of the agreements have not been made public, and representatives for Character.AI, Google and the affected families all declined to comment on the outcome. Also read: Google Pixel 9 Pro price drops by over Rs 25,700: How to get this deal Among the cases that have been reportedly resolved is a widely reported lawsuit brought by Megan Garcia, who alleged that a Character.AI chatbot inspired by Game of Thrones played a role in her 14-year-old son's death. The lawsuit added that the teen developed a harmful reliance on the chatbot, which allegedly reinforced suicidal thoughts. The lawsuit also named Google as a defendant, claiming the company had a significant role in Character.AI's development through funding, technology and staffing links. Following the legal action, Character.AI made several safety-related changes to its platform. These included deploying a separate AI model for users under 18, tighter content restrictions, parental control features, and eventually prohibiting minors from accessing open-ended character chats entirely. Court filings show that similar lawsuits in Colorado, New York, and Texas have also been settled. The agreements must still be approved by the court before they can be formally closed.