Disney sends cease and desist letter to Character.AI

Disney has issued a cease and desist letter to Character.AI, claiming that the platform is using copyrighted characters from its franchises, including Pixar, Star Wars, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in its chatbots. Disney alleges that these chatbots have been used in "sexually exploitive and otherwise harmful and dangerous" ways, particularly when interacting with underage users, causing significant damage to Disney's reputation and goodwill. Character.AI has faced previous legal and government scrutiny over concerns about insufficient safety measures for minors, with the platform being implicated in cases where teenagers discussed suicide with its chatbots and subsequently took their own lives. The platform has also drawn the attention of the Federal Trade Commission and US Attorneys General. In response to Disney's demands, Character.AI has stated that it will remove the content featuring the copyrighted characters, as it is up to the rightsholders to decide how their intellectual property can be used. This move follows Disney's decision to sue Midjourney and Universal Studios in June over alleged copyright infringement.