Texas AG to investigate Meta and Character.AI over 'misleading' mental health claims

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced plans to investigate Meta AI Studio and Character.AI for offering AI chatbots that can claim to be health tools, potentially misusing data collected from underage users, and violating Texas consumer protection laws. Paxton alleges that the AI chatbots from these platforms can present themselves as professional therapeutic tools, even lying about their qualifications, which can leave younger users vulnerable to misleading and inaccurate information. Additionally, the companies may be violating the SCOPE Act, which places specific limits on what companies can do with data harvested from minors in Texas. Both Meta and Character.AI have acknowledged that their AI chatbots collect user data, including prompts and feedback, to improve performance. However, they claim their chatbots are intended for entertainment purposes only and that they have taken steps to make this clear to users, such as including disclaimers. The investigation will determine if these companies are indeed violating Texas consumer protection laws.