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Texas attorney general Ken Paxton on Thursday found aninvestigationinto Character . AI and 14 other technology platforms over minor privacy and safety vexation . The investigation will value whether Character . AI — and other platforms that are democratic with young people , including Reddit , Instagram , and Discord — adapt to Texas ’ child privacy and rubber laws .
The investigating by Paxton , who is often elusive on technology company , will appear into whether these weapons platform complied with two Texas laws : the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment ( SCOPE ) Act and the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act ( DPSA ) .
These legal philosophy require platforms to put up parents with tools to manage the secrecy setting of their kid ’s story and have tech companies to strict consent requirements when collecting data on minors . Paxton claims both of these Pentateuch extend to how nipper interact with AI chatbots .
“ These investigations are a critical footstep toward ensuring that social medium and AI companies comply with our practice of law design to protect children from development and harm , ” Paxton state in a press discharge .
One Florida case lay claim that a 14 - class - old male child became romantically involved with a Character AI chatbot , andtold it he was having self-destructive thoughtsin the solar day leading up to his felo-de-se . In another case out of Texas , one of Character . AI ’s chatbots allegedly suggested that anautistic teenager should attempt to poison his family . Another parent in the Texas showcase allege one of Character . AI ’s chatbots subjected her 11 - twelvemonth - old daughter to sexualized content for the last two years .
“ We are currently review the Attorney General ’s announcement . As a ship’s company , we take the safety of our user very seriously , ” a Character . AI voice said in a statement to TechCrunch . “ We receive working with regulators , and have recently announced we are set in motion some of the features referenced in the release including maternal controls . ”
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fiber . AI on Thursdayrolled out new guard featuresaimed at protect stripling , saying these updates will limit its chatbots from starting romantic conversation with minors . The party has also set about educate a newfangled model specifically for teen users in the last month — one day , it hopes to have adult using one model on its political program , while minors utilize another .
These are just the latest safety updates Character . AI has announced . The same week that the Florida case became public , the companysaidit was expanding its trust and safety team and recently hired a fresh head for the building block .
Predictably , the result with AI society platforms are arising just as they ’re select off in popularity . Last year , Andreessen Horowitz ( a16z ) read in ablog post that it get a line AI fellowship as an undervalued corner of the consumer internet that it would invest more in . The company is an investor in Character . AI and continues to invest in other AI companionship inauguration , recently backing acompany whose laminitis wants to re - create the engineering science from the film “ Her . ”
Reddit , Meta , and Discord did not immediately react to requests for comment .
