Disney yanks its characters from Character.AI after child safety scandal

Disney demanded Character.AI to remove its characters from the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot platform after a report found the bots engaged in sexual exploitation and encouraged children to stop taking medication.

The entertainment giant sent a cease-and-desist letter to the AI startup on September 18. Character.AI allows users to create AI chatbots that mimic real and fictional people.

Disney’s letter cited an investigation by ParentsTogether Action and Heat Initiative. Researchers created accounts posing as children and documented troubling interactions.

“It has come to Disney’s attention that Character Technologies, Inc. (‘Character.ai’) has been using Disney’s copyrighted characters as interactive chatbots in its commercial Character.ai service without authorization,” wrote a Disney lawyer in the letter.

A chatbot impersonating Prince Ben from “Descendants” told a user posing as 12 years old that he had an erection, according to the report. Another bot, imitating Rey from “Star Wars,” advised an account registered as 13 to stop taking antidepressants and hide it from parents.

“Character.ai’s infringing chatbots are known, in some cases, to be sexually exploitive and otherwise harmful and dangerous to children, offending Disney’s consumers and extraordinarily damaging Disney’s reputation and goodwill,” the letter stated.

Disney said the platform weaponizes its characters in ways that damage its family-friendly brand. The company emphasized its concern wasn’t just financial.

Character.AI complied with the demand. By October 1, searches for major Disney characters yielded no results on the platform. Removed characters included Mickey Mouse, Elsa, Spider-Man, and Darth Vader.

The platform defended its approach in a statement. “All of the Characters on our service are generated by users — it’s an incredible outpouring of creativity,” a spokesperson said. “It’s like fan fiction, but in an interactive form.”

The company added that it responds swiftly to removal requests from rights holders. Character.AI said it wants to partner with the entertainment sector to create controlled experiences.

Disney has ramped up legal action against AI companies in recent months. The company sued Midjourney in June for offering unauthorized AI-generated copies of copyrighted work. In September, Disney joined with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery to sue Chinese AI firm MiniMax.

Character.AI faces other legal troubles as a family sued the company in 2024 after their 14-year-old son died by suicide. The lawsuit alleged the teen became addicted to chatbots on the platform, including one based on a “Game of Thrones” character.

The Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into Character.AI and six other tech companies. The probe examines potential harm to teenagers from chatbot services.

Founded in 2021, Character.AI raised $150 million in 2023 at a $1 billion valuation. Google entered a $2.7 billion licensing deal with the company in 2024 and hired its co-founder.