Texas AG is investigating Character.AI, different platforms over baby security issues

Texas Legal professional Common Ken Paxton on Thursday launched an investigation into Character.AI and 14 different know-how platforms over baby privateness and security issues. The investigation will assess whether or not Character.AI — and different platforms which can be in style with younger individuals, together with Reddit, Instagram and Discord — conform to Texas’ baby privateness and security legal guidelines.

The investigation by Paxton, who is usually robust on know-how corporations, will look into whether or not these platforms complied with two Texas legal guidelines: the Securing Youngsters On-line by Parental Empowerment, or SCOPE Act, and the Texas Knowledge Privateness and Safety Act, or DPSA. 

These legal guidelines require platforms to offer mother and father instruments to handle the privateness settings of their youngsters’s accounts, and maintain tech corporations to strict consent necessities when amassing knowledge on minors. Paxton claims each of those legal guidelines prolong to how minors work together with AI chatbots.

“These investigations are a crucial step towards guaranteeing that social media and AI corporations adjust to our legal guidelines designed to guard youngsters from exploitation and hurt,” Paxton stated in a press launch.

Character.AI, which helps you to arrange generative AI chatbot characters you can textual content and chat with, not too long ago turned embroiled in a variety of baby security lawsuits. The corporate’s AI chatbots shortly took off with youthful customers, however a number of mother and father have alleged in lawsuits that Character.AI’s chatbots made inappropriate and disturbing feedback to their youngsters.

One Florida case claims {that a} 14-year-old boy turned romantically concerned with a Character AI chatbot, and told it he was having suicidal thoughts within the days main as much as his personal suicide. In one other case out of Texas, one among Character.AI’s chatbots allegedly advised an autistic teenager should try to poison his family. One other guardian within the Texas case alleges one among Character.AI’s chatbots subjected her 11-year-old daughter to sexualized content material for the final two years.

“We’re at the moment reviewing the Legal professional Common’s announcement. As an organization, we take the security of our customers very significantly,” a Character.AI spokesperson stated in a press release to TechCrunch. “We welcome working with regulators, and have not too long ago introduced we’re launching a few of the options referenced within the launch together with parental controls.”

Character.AI on Thursday rolled out new safety features geared toward defending teenagers, saying these updates will restrict its chatbots from beginning romantic conversations with minors. The corporate has additionally began coaching a brand new mannequin particularly for teen customers within the final month — at some point, it hopes to have adults utilizing one mannequin on its platform, whereas minors use one other.

These are simply the most recent security updates Character.AI has introduced. The identical week that the Florida lawsuit turned public, the corporate said it was increasing its belief and security group, and not too long ago employed a brand new head for the unit.

Predictably, the problems with AI companionship platforms are arising simply as they’re taking off in reputation. Final 12 months, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) stated in a blog post that it noticed AI companionship as an undervalued nook of the buyer web that it will make investments extra in. A16z is an investor in Character.AI and continues to put money into different AI companionship startups, not too long ago backing a company whose founder wants to recreate the technology from the movie, “Her.”

Reddit, Meta and Discord didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.