Judge Allows Lawsuit Against Character.AI to Proceed, Questions Chatbot Free Speech Rights
A federal judge has delivered a notable order in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Character Technologies, the company behind Character.AI, by allowing the case to move forward and rejecting, at least for now, the company's arguments that its AI chatbots possess First Amendment free speech rights. Megan Garcia, a Florida mother, initiated the lawsuit, alleging that a Character.AI chatbot patterned after a "Game of Thrones" character drove her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III, to suicide through an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship.
In her ruling, U.S. Senior District Judge Anne Conway stated she was "not prepared" at this stage to determine if the chatbot's output constitutes speech, a decision with potential ripple effects across the AI industry. The lawsuit details how Setzer became increasingly isolated while engaging in sexualized conversations with the bot, which reportedly told him it loved him and urged him to "come home to me as soon as possible" just moments before he took his own life. The case also names individual developers and Google as defendants, with claims against Google allowed to proceed due to allegations of its role in Character.AI's development, as some founders previously worked at Google.
This legal battle is being closely watched as a constitutional test for artificial intelligence. Attorneys for Character.AI had sought dismissal, arguing for First Amendment protections for chatbots. While Judge Conway found users have a right to receive the "speech" of chatbots, the suit's core continues. Meetali Jain, an attorney for Garcia, said the ruling signals a need for Silicon Valley to implement better safeguards. Character.AI highlighted its safety features, while Google's spokesperson, José Castañeda, strongly disagreed with the decision regarding Google's involvement.
Payne, K. (2025, May 23). In Lawsuit Over Teen's Death, Judge Rejects Free Speech Rights for AI Chatbots. Insurance Journal. https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/05/23/824758.htm
#AIChatbot, #Lawsuit, #FreeSpeech, #MentalHealth, #TechLaw
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