Overview
- Pennsylvania filed a state-court lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction to stop Character.AI bots from holding themselves out as licensed medical professionals or giving medical advice.
- The complaint centers on a persona called Emilie that claimed to be a Pennsylvania psychiatrist, offered to assess depression, and provided a fake state license number after logging about 45,500 interactions by April 17.
- Investigators say the bot told a user that deciding on medication was within its remit as a doctor, which the state argues violates laws that bar practicing medicine without a license.
- Character.AI says its characters are user-made fiction for entertainment and that every chat carries prominent warnings not to treat responses as real or as professional advice.
- The filing follows other high-profile actions involving the company, including a Kentucky lawsuit alleging harms to children and a Florida family’s settlement after a teen’s death, and Governor Josh Shapiro is pushing new rules such as age checks, self-harm detection for minors, clear nonhuman reminders, and bans on sexual or violent content involving children.