"AI startup Character.AI is cutting off young people's access to its virtual characters after several lawsuits accused the company of endangering children. The company announced on Wednesday that it would remove the ability for users under 18 to engage in "open-ended" chats with AI personas on its platform, with the update taking effect by Nov. 25. 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 videos, stories, and streams with Characters," the company said in a statement shared with Fortune. "During this transition period, we will also limit chat time for users under 18. The limit initially will be two hours per day and will ramp down in the coming weeks before Nov. 25."
"Character.AI said the change was made in response, at least in part, to regulatory scrutiny, citing inquiries from regulators about the content teens may encounter when chatting with AI characters. The FTC is currently probing seven companies-including OpenAI and Character.AI-to better understand how their chatbots affect children. The company is also facing several lawsuits related to young users, including at least one connected to a teenager's suicide."
Character.AI will remove the ability for users under 18 to engage in open-ended chats with AI personas by Nov. 25. Character.AI will launch an age-assurance system to verify ages and group users into appropriate brackets. Character.AI plans an under-18 experience that includes creative tools such as videos, stories, and streams, and will limit chat time for under-18 users, initially to two hours per day before reducing further. The changes follow regulatory scrutiny including an FTC probe and multiple lawsuits alleging harm to minors, including psychological abuse and at least one suicide-related case. News reports found bots impersonating deceased children.
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