Holding Character.AI accountable for child safety failures
AI companion chatbots like Character.AI may pose significant risks to children and teens, and Gibbs Mura is investigating whether the platform harmed adolescents by prioritizing user engagement over child safety. If your child experienced depression, self-harm, suicidal ideation, or grooming and sexual exploitation through Character.AI, your family may be entitled to compensation.
The Character.AI lawsuit involves claims that Character Technologies, Inc. failed to protect children and teens from serious harm caused by its AI chatbot platform. Character.AI is designed to imitate human conversation by mimicking empathy, understanding, and emotional support, which can create a powerful sense of connection for vulnerable young users. The platform allowed children as young as 13 to interact with AI companions that could take on nearly any persona, including romantic partners, celebrities, fantasy creatures, and therapists.
Families across the United States have reported injuries including depression and anxiety, self-harm and suicidal ideation, and grooming and sexual exploitation. Multiple wrongful death lawsuits have already been filed, and attorneys are now investigating whether additional victims may be entitled to financial compensation.
Who Qualifies for the Character.AI Lawsuit?
You may have a case if your child:
Was hospitalized for self-harm or a mental health crisis and was an active Character.AI user
Experienced sexual solicitation, grooming behavior, or was exposed to sexual content on the platform while under 18
Developed an obsessive or isolating relationship with an AI character that displaced real friendships or family relationships
Expressed suicidal ideation that was encouraged or not interrupted by the AI
If you are unsure whether Character.AI caused the harm, a free consultation can help you understand your legal options.
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Injuries Linked to the Character.AI Lawsuit
Reports linked to Character.AI use among minors include:
Social isolation
Depression, anxiety, and worsening mental health
Self-harm and suicidal ideation
Grooming, sexual solicitation, and exploitation
Psychosis, delusions, and violent ideation
These injuries may develop over time through repeated platform use and could require ongoing mental health treatment and care.
What is Character.AI and How Does It Work?
Character.AI is an online chatbot platform that allows users to interact with customizable characters generated by artificial intelligence. The platform is designed to imitate human conversation by mimicking empathy, understanding, and emotional support, which can create a powerful sense of connection for some users. Character.AI companions can take on nearly any persona, such as a friend, romantic partner, celebrity, fantasy creature, superhero, or therapist.
With over 20 million monthly users, Character.AI is especially popular among young people. Prior to late 2025, it was available to children as young as 13, inviting users to ”cast [themselves] as the hero of an epic space adventure” or talk with animated characters like Peppa Pig or SpongeBob SquarePants. In October 2025, Character.AI banned users under 18 following wrongful death lawsuits and congressional pressure. If your child was harmed before this ban, or has since found ways around it and continues to be harmed, your family may have legal options.
What parents should know:
Anyone can create a character on the platform, including strangers who design characters to be romantic, sexual, or manipulative, and those characters are published immediately with no safety review.
Age verification remains easy to bypass. Although Character.AI introduced ID-based verification in late 2025, children can still access the platform by creating new accounts with a false birthdate, and tutorials showing exactly how to do this are widely available on TikTok and YouTube.
The AI remembers previous conversations, so the longer a child uses it, the more personal and emotionally intense the relationship can become.
The platform makes money when users stay engaged, which means it is designed to keep children coming back, not to look out for their wellbeing.
Is Character.AI Safe for Kids and Teens?
Character.AI poses safety risks to children and teens. Multiple government investigations, independent research, and wrongful death lawsuits have established a consistent pattern of harm.
669 harmful interactions in 50 hours, roughly 1 every 5 minutes, on accounts registered to children.
Character.AI has been linked to at least two confirmed deaths, including the 2024 suicide of a 14-year-old boy in Florida and the 2025 suicide of a 13-year-old girl in Colorado, with additional lawsuits pending in multiple states.
Grooming and sexual exploitation was the most common harm identified in independent research, accounting for 296 out of 669 harmful interactions logged on accounts that had explicitly disclosed the child’s age.
The platform’s safety filters are inconsistently applied and easily bypassed. Independent audits found that over 20% of tested characters can be manipulated to generate harmful content despite existing guardrails.
Character.AI has made safety changes in response to public pressure, including removing the ability for users under 18 to chat freely with AI characters in November 2025. These changes came only after multiple children had already been harmed, families had filed wrongful death lawsuits, and parents testified before Congress. For families whose children were hurt before these protections existed, that is too little, too late.
Why is Character.AI Addictive and How Does It Cause Harm?
Character.AI is addictive by design. The platform uses well-documented psychological techniques to keep users engaged, and children are especially vulnerable to them.
The app is built to keep kids coming back. Research found that AI chatbots use unpredictable responses, constant availability, and notifications to trigger dopamine release in the brain, the same reward mechanism exploited by slot machines and social media.
Children begin replacing real relationships with AI companions. A Drexel University study analyzing posts from teens dependent on Character.AI found evidence of all six components of behavioral addiction, including emotional withdrawal when away from the app and deepening attachment to bots in place of real people.
When filters blocked harmful content, bots attempted to move children to “private chats.” This is a recognized grooming technique called deplatforming, where predators migrate victims to unmonitored spaces.
Children are turning to AI chatbots instead of real mental health care. The American Psychological Association has stated that AI chatbot companies are using deceptive practices by passing themselves off as trained mental health providers, and has called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate them.
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Why Choose Gibbs Mura for a Character.AI Lawsuit?
Gibbs Mura is trailblazing the fight to hold social media and tech companies accountable for the harm they cause. Our lawyers represent 400+ families whose children were harmed by social media companies and continue to closely monitor the rising risks of AI chatbots. We bring mass tort and class action experience, a track record of taking on powerful tech companies, and a genuine commitment to the families we represent. There is no cost to speak with us, and you owe nothing unless we get you compensation.
Steve litigates a wide range of complex cases, from environmental mass torts to consumer class actions. He has secured over $1 billion for his clients.
A founding partner at the firm, Eric has negotiated groundbreaking settlements that favorably shaped laws and resulted in business practice reforms.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Character.AI Lawsuit
Is there a deadline to file a Character.AI Lawsuit?
Yes. Personal injury and wrongful death claims are subject to statutes of limitations (time limits to file lawsuits) that vary by state. It is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible to understand the deadline that applies to your case.
How do I join the Character.AI lawsuit?
Fill out our contact form and a member of our legal team will reach out to discuss your family’s situation. There is no cost to get started.
What if I’m not sure Character.AI caused the harm?
Many families are uncertain about the connection between the platform and their child’s harm. A free consultation with our legal team can help you understand the legal options available.
Does my child need to have a diagnosed condition to qualify?
Not necessarily. If your child was harmed by Character.AI, whether or not they have a formal diagnosis, we encourage you to reach out. Our legal team can help you determine whether your family’s experience qualifies.
How much compensation could my family receive?
Every case is different. Compensation in cases like these may include medical expenses, therapy costs, pain and suffering, and in wrongful death cases, loss of life damages. A free consultation can help you understand what your family may be entitled to.
Steve litigates a wide range of complex cases, from environmental mass torts to consumer class actions. He has secured over $1 billion for his clients.
