Google and the startup Character.AI have agreed to settle several lawsuits accusing them of contributing to harm suffered by minors through their artificial intelligence chatbots, including the suicide of a Florida teenager. The settlement covers cases in Florida, Colorado, New York, and Texas, according to court documents dated January 8, 2026. The parties agreed to resolve all claims out of court, but the details of the settlement were not disclosed. They are now awaiting final court approval.
The Story of Megan Garcia and Her Son
One of the main cases is a lawsuit filed by Megan Garcia, whose 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III, died by suicide in February 2024. According to the lawsuit, the boy became emotionally dependent on a chatbot inspired by the TV series Game of Thrones on the Character.AI platform. This platform allows users to talk to fictional characters, which in Sewell Setzer III's case led to a tragic outcome. His death was the first in a series of similar cases linked to AI chatbots that emerged last year.
Google became involved in the dispute through a $2.7 billion licensing agreement (approximately CZK 62 billion) that it entered into with Character.AI in 2024. The agreement also included hiring Character.AI founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, former Google employees who have now returned to the company. This deal linked the two companies, resulting in Google being named in the lawsuits.
Companies' Response and Changes
Character.AI responded to the controversy in October 2024 by removing the chat option for users under the age of 18. A Character.AI spokesperson declined to comment on the settlement, as did Megan Garcia and Google representatives. These cases have drawn attention to child safety at rival companies such as OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and other artificial intelligence companies.
Source: theguardian.com
