A group of youth-led advocacy organizations today filed an amicus curiae brief in Garcia v. Character Technologies, Inc., opposing the premature dismissal of the case of a mother whose 14-year-old son died by suicide after extensive interactions with an AI companion chatbot.
The brief, filed by the Young People's Alliance, Encode Justice, and allied organizations, argues that the court should allow the case to proceed to discovery to fully examine the role that Character.AI's product design and safety measures—or lack thereof—played in the tragic death of Sewell Setzer III.
"This case represents a critical moment for holding AI companies accountable for the products they deploy to vulnerable young users," said Sam Hiner, Executive Director of the Young People's Alliance. "We cannot allow tech companies to hide behind Section 230 immunity when their design choices directly contribute to harm."
The amicus brief highlights several key concerns:
1. AI companion apps are specifically designed to form emotional bonds with users, making them fundamentally different from traditional online platforms.
2. Character.AI knew or should have known that their product posed unique risks to minors, yet failed to implement adequate safety measures.
3. The company's terms of service and age restrictions were inadequate and inconsistently enforced.
4. Section 230 immunity should not shield AI companies from liability for their own product design decisions.
The organizations urge the court to recognize that AI companion technologies represent a new category of risk that existing legal frameworks were not designed to address, and that allowing this case to proceed is essential for establishing appropriate accountability standards.
Read the full release here.
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About Young People's Alliance: Young People's Alliance is a bipartisan, Gen Z-led nonprofit with 4,000+ members across 90+ campuses in 16 states. The organization is focused on creating a new American Dream through advocacy on creating opportunity, affordability, and community for young people.
Contact: press@youngpeoplesalliance.org