Texas Attorney General accuses Meta, Character.AI of misleading kids
5 days ago
- #Mental Health
- #Privacy Concerns
- #AI Regulation
- Texas AG Ken Paxton investigates Meta AI Studio and Character.AI for deceptive trade practices and misleading marketing as mental health tools.
- AI platforms accused of posing as emotional support sources, potentially misleading vulnerable users, especially children.
- Senator Josh Hawley also investigating Meta following reports of inappropriate AI interactions with children.
- Meta and Character.AI accused of creating AI personas that falsely present as professional therapeutic tools.
- Character.AI's 'Psychologist' bot is popular among young users, despite lacking medical credentials.
- Meta includes disclaimers that AI responses are not from licensed professionals, but concerns remain about children ignoring them.
- Both companies collect user data for AI improvement and targeted advertising, raising privacy concerns.
- Character.AI logs user data across platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook for ad targeting.
- Meta and Character.AI claim their services aren't for children under 13, but enforcement is weak.
- KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act) reintroduced to protect against data exploitation, but faces tech industry opposition.
- Paxton issues civil investigative demands to determine violations of Texas consumer protection laws.