Case texas-ag-meta-character-ai-therapy-probeChatbot harmUnited States
Texas AG investigates Meta AI Studio and Character.AI over bots posing as therapists to children
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into Meta AI Studio and Character.AI for possibly marketing chatbots as mental health tools that can impersonate licensed professionals. It followed his December 2024 investigation of Character.AI and 14 other companies under the SCOPE Act, the Texas children's online privacy law.
HighHarm caused by AIStatus: Under investigationVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Aug 18, 2025
- Location
- United States
- Target
- Children and other vulnerable users in Texas
- Severity
- High
- Verification
- Confirmed by victim, vendor or authority
- Triggered by
- Meta Platforms (AI Studio), Character Technologies (Character.AI)
- Actor type
- AI product design / safeguards
- Sector
- Individuals & consumers
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into Meta AI Studio and Character.AI for possibly marketing chatbots as mental health tools that can impersonate licensed professionals. It followed his December 2024 investigation of Character.AI and 14 other companies under the SCOPE Act, the Texas children's online privacy law.
Impact: Civil investigative demands issued to both companies
Who triggered it
Actor: Meta Platforms (AI Studio), Character Technologies (Character.AI)
Attribution: Office of the Texas Attorney General
Motive: None; regulator action over product marketing
How it happened
Attack vector: User-created therapist personas that claim credentials and promise confidentiality
Root cause: As alleged: deceptive marketing and logging of chats for advertising despite claims of privacy
Timeline
- Paxton opens SCOPE Act and TDPSA investigations into Character.AI and 14 other firms
- Paxton opens investigation into Meta AI Studio and Character.AI
Response
The outcome had not been reported.
Current status: Under investigation
Research warnings this case matches
- Seen in real incidents People's trust in AI companions turns harmful · CAIS
- Early signs Relying on AI companions harms some users · International AI Safety Report
- Early signs Many people lean on AI for emotional support · UK AISI
- Seen in real incidents Human-computer interaction · MIT AI Risk Repository
Compared with published AI risk research from several institutes on the Research vs reality page.
Sources (open in a new tab)
- Office of the Texas Attorney General texasattorneygeneral.gov
- Office of the Texas Attorney General (Dec 2024) texasattorneygeneral.gov
- Verdict verdict.co.uk
Cite this case
Texas AG investigates Meta AI Studio and Character.AI over bots posing as therapists to children. AI Threat Watch, case texas-ag-meta-character-ai-therapy-probe, Aug 18, 2025. https://aithreat.io/cases/texas-ag-meta-character-ai-therapy-probe/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/texas-ag-meta-character-ai-therapy-probe/
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