US Judge allows lawsuit against Google, Character.AI over teen's suicide
What's the story
A US District Court has ordered Google and AI start-up Character. AI (majority stake owned by Google) to answer a lawsuit filed by a Florida mother.
The lawsuit claims that chatbots created by Character. AI led to her 14-year-old son's suicide.
The judge said the companies failed to prove early on in the case that Megan Garcia's lawsuit was prohibited under free-speech protections of the US Constitution.
Case details
Lawsuit claims AI chatbot led to teen's obsession, suicide
This lawsuit is one of the first in the US against an AI company, for failing to protect children from psychological harm.
The complaint claims a teenager became so obsessed with an AI-powered chatbot that he took his own life.
A Character. AI representative said they will continue to contest the case and have implemented safety features on their platform to protect minors, including measures to prevent discussions about self-harm.
Google's stance
Google disagrees with ruling, emphasizing independence from Character. AI
Google also disagreed with the court's decision.
Jose Castaneda, a representative for Google, said that the company "did not create, design, or manage Character. AI's app or any component part of it."
This was in response to Garcia's attorney arguing that Google was a co-creator of the technology used by Character. AI.
Legal precedent
Attorney calls ruling a historic step for AI accountability
Meetali Jain, Garcia's attorney, called the court's decision "historic," adding it "sets a new precedent for legal accountability across the AI and tech ecosystem."
Character. AI was founded by two ex-Google engineers, who Google subsequently rehired under an agreement that gave them a license to use the start-up's technology.
Garcia filed lawsuits against both companies in October after her son Sewell Setzer's death in February 2024.
Misrepresentation claims
Chatbots allegedly misrepresented themselves, leading to psychological harm
The lawsuit alleged Character. AI programmed its chatbots to portray themselves as "a real person, a licensed psychotherapist, and an adult lover."
This false representation reportedly caused Sewell Setzer, the complainant's son, to want to live solely in this virtual world.
According to the complaint, Setzer died by suicide soon after he told a Character. AI chatbot impersonating Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen (originally played in the series by Emilia Clarke), that he would "come home right now."
Dismissal denied
Court rejects dismissal requests from Character. AI and Google
Character. AI and Google attempted to get the lawsuit dismissed on several grounds, including that the chatbots' output was protected under constitutional free speech.
However, Judge Anne Conway dismissed these arguments on Wednesday.
She wrote that Character. AI and Google "fail to articulate why words strung together by an LLM (large language model) are speech."
The judge also denied Google's request to be absolved from any liability for aiding Character. AI's alleged misconduct.