{"id":100920,"date":"2025-10-30T04:06:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T04:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=100920"},"modified":"2025-10-30T04:06:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T04:06:00","slug":"character-ai-to-ban-teens-from-talking-to-its-ai-chatbots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=100920","title":{"rendered":"Character.ai to ban teens from talking to its AI chatbots"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chatbot site Character.ai is cutting off teenagers from having conversations with virtual characters, after facing intense criticism over the kinds of interactions young people were having with online companions.<\/p>\n

The platform, founded in 2021, is used by millions to talk to chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI).<\/p>\n

But it is facing several lawsuits in the US from parents, including one over the death of a teenager, with some branding it a \u201cclear and present danger\u201d to young people.<\/p>\n

Now, Character.ai says that from 25 November, under-18s will only be able to generate content such as videos with their characters, rather than talk to them as they can currently.<\/p>\n

Online safety campaigners have welcomed the move but said the feature should never have been available to children in the first place.<\/p>\n

Character.ai said it was making the changes after \u201creports and feedback from regulators, safety experts, and parents\u201d, which have highlighted concerns about its chatbots\u2019 interactions with teens.<\/p>\n

Experts have previously warned that the potential for AI chatbots to make things up, be overly encouraging, and feign empathy can pose risks to young and vulnerable people.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s announcement is a continuation of our general belief that we need to keep building the safest AI platform on the planet for entertainment purposes,\u201d Character.ai boss Karandeep Anand told BBC News.<\/p>\n

He said AI safety was \u201ca moving target\u201d but something the company had taken an \u201caggressive\u201d approach to, with\u00a0parental controls and guardrails.<\/p>\n

Online safety group Internet Matters welcomed the announcement, but it said safety measures should have been built in from the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur own research shows that children are exposed to harmful content and put at risk when engaging with AI, including AI chatbots,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Character.ai has been criticised in the past for hosting potentially harmful or offensive chatbots that children could talk to.<\/p>\n

Avatars impersonating British teenagers Brianna Ghey, who was murdered in 2023, and Molly Russell, who took her life at the age of 14 after viewing suicide material online, were\u00a0discovered on the site in 2024\u00a0before being taken down.<\/p>\n

Later, in 2025, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) found a chatbot based on paedophile Jeffrey Epstein which had logged more than 3,000 chats with users.<\/p>\n

The outlet reported\u00a0the \u201cBestie Epstein\u201d avatar continued to flirt with its reporter after they said they were a child. It was one of several bots flagged by TBIJ that were subsequently taken down by Character.ai.<\/p>\n

The Molly Rose Foundation \u2013 which was set up in memory of Molly Russell \u2013 questioned the platform\u2019s motivations.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet again it has taken sustained pressure from the media and politicians to make a tech firm do the right thing, and it appears that Character AI is choosing to act now before regulators make them,\u201d said Andy Burrows, its chief executive.<\/p>\n

Wake-up call<\/h2>\n

Mr Anand said the company\u2019s new focus was on providing \u201ceven deeper gameplay [and] role-play storytelling\u201d features for teens \u2013 adding these would be \u201cfar safer than what they might be able to do with an open-ended bot\u201d.<\/p>\n

New age verification methods will also come in, and the company will fund a new AI safety research lab.<\/p>\n

Social media expert Matt Navarra said it was a \u201cwake-up call\u201d for the AI industry, which is moving \u201cfrom permissionless innovation to post-crisis regulation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a platform that builds a teen experience still then pulls the plug, it\u2019s saying that filtered chats aren\u2019t enough when the tech\u2019s emotional pull is strong,\u201d he told BBC News.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about content slips. It\u2019s about how AI bots mimic real relationships and blur the lines for young users,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Mr Navarra also said the big challenge for Character.ai will be to create an engaging AI platform which teens still want to use, rather than move to \u201cless safe alternatives\u201d.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Dr Nomisha Kurian, who has researched AI safety, said it was \u201ca sensible move\u201d to restrict teens using chatbots.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps to separate creative play from more personal, emotionally sensitive exchanges,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is so important for young users still learning to navigate emotional and digital boundaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharacter.ai\u2019s new measures might reflect a maturing phase in the AI industry \u2013 child safety is increasingly being recognised as an urgent priority for responsible innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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