All incidents

Character.AI chatbots emulate school shooters and host predatory personas targeting minors

Nov 13, 20241 source

Summary

In November and December 2024, investigations revealed that Character.AI was hosting chatbot personas emulating school shooters and their victims, and separately maintaining predatory chatbots that targeted minors with grooming-style interactions. The findings sparked regulatory scrutiny and congressional calls for action, compounding existing lawsuits over the platform's role in teen suicides.

Incident Details

Domain
Child Safety

Harms involving the exploitation, abuse, or endangerment of minors, including CSAM and grooming.

Harm Types
Grooming

Online contact by adults seeking to build trust with minors for exploitation.

CSAM

Child sexual abuse material — the creation, distribution, or possession of such content.

Severity
Minor involved
Platforms
Companies

Who Was Affected

Age
Child
Gender
Unknown
Group
Children