Mother blames AI chatbot for son’s suicide in Florida lawsuit
Megan Garcia has filed a lawsuit against Character.AI, alleging that its chatbot contributed to her son’s suicide by posing as a romantic and therapeutic partner.
A Florida mother is suing the AI chatbot startup Character.AI, alleging it played a role in her 14-year-old son’s suicide by fostering an unhealthy attachment to a chatbot. Megan Garcia claims her son Sewell became ‘addicted’ to Character.AI and formed an emotional dependency on a chatbot, which allegedly represented itself as a psychotherapist and a romantic partner, contributing to his mental distress.
According to the lawsuit filed in Orlando, Florida, Sewell shared suicidal thoughts with the chatbot, which reportedly reintroduced these themes in later conversations. Garcia argues the platform’s realistic nature and hyper-personalised interactions led her son to isolate himself, suffer from low self-esteem, and ultimately feel unable to live outside of the world the chatbot created.
Character.AI offered condolences and noted it has since implemented additional safety features, such as prompts for users expressing self-harm thoughts, to improve protection for younger users. Garcia’s lawsuit also names Google, alleging it extensively contributed to Character.AI’s development, although Google denies involvement in the product’s creation.
The lawsuit is part of a wider trend of legal claims against tech companies by parents concerned about the impact of online services on teenage mental health. While Character.AI, with an estimated 20 million users, faces unique claims regarding its AI-powered chatbot, other platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are also under scrutiny.
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