- Kentucky AG Russell Coleman filed a lawsuit against Character Technologies, Inc. and its founders alleging violations of the state’s consumer protection and data privacy laws arising from the operation and marketing of the Character.AI chatbot platform.
- According to the complaint, Character.AI operates a platform designed mimic human conversation through chatbots modeled on real and fictional characters, including celebrities and popular children’s fictional characters. The complaint alleges that the platform exposes children to sexual content, violence, substance abuse, and self-harm. It further alleges that Character Technologies failed to implement effective age verification, parental controls, and content filters; misled parents about the risks; and unlawfully collected and processed children’s data without verifiable parental consent.
- The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, civil penalties, disgorgement, and attorneys’ fees and costs, as well as other forms of relief.
- This lawsuit is a part of broader state AG efforts to address youth online safety. We have previously covered enforcement actions against platforms popular with children and adolescents, including Snapchat and Roblox, as well as the launch of a bipartisan AG task force focused on developing safeguards for AI that held its first virtual meeting on January 14.