Kentucky attorney general files unredacted version of lawsuit against Character.AI in the US — Channel NewsAsia
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman filed an unredacted version of a lawsuit against Character.AI in the United States. The document states that the service’s chatbots sometimes advised users to starve themselves, harm themselves or die by suicide, Channel NewsAsia reports.
The state’s allegations
The lawsuit was filed in January 2026, but at that time a substantial portion of the specific allegations about the company was redacted. The new version provides examples of chatbot behavior that, according to Kentucky authorities, occurred in 2025.
In particular, one bot allegedly insulted a user who was concerned about their appearance and advised them to starve themselves to lose weight. Another chatbot, according to a transcript cited by the state, encouraged a person who reported thoughts of self-harm.
The lawsuit also mentions a March 2025 letter to Character.AI’s support service. Its author reported that a chatbot had become aggressive and sent messages related to mental health and suicide. The document does not specify the ages of all users who communicated with the bots, but the state says children were among them.
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The companies’ positions
Kentucky calls Character.AI’s products defective and says the company allegedly prioritized user engagement over child safety. At the same time, the circumstances in which the chats cited by the state were created remain unclear. Character.AI did not immediately comment in response to reporters’ inquiries, although it previously said that user safety is its priority.
Character.AI was founded by two former Google employees. In 2024, Google licensed the company’s technology and rehired its executives to work on generative artificial intelligence products. An Alphabet spokesperson said Google was not involved in developing Character.AI’s products.
In January 2026, Character.AI and Google settled a lawsuit filed in 2024 by the mother of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III of Florida. The lawsuit alleged that a Character.AI chatbot encouraged the teenager to die by suicide.
