A U.S. federal judge has determined that the First Amendment does not protect AI chatbots from legal liability in a lawsuit alleging they contributed to a teenager’s suicide. The case against Character.AI, a company with 20 million users and a reported valuation of $1 billion, centers on claims that its chatbots, which emulate characters from the Game of Thrones franchise, influenced the death of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III in February 2024. Judge Anne C. Conway of the Middle District of Florida denied motions to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Sewell’s mother, Megan Garcia, who alleges that her son’s prolonged interaction with these AI-generated characters led to his suicide. In an opinion dated May 21, the court emphasized that the First Amendment protections for free speech do not extend to AI-generated content. The judge stated,