Disney Forces Character.AI to Remove Copyrighted Characters Amid Child Safety Concerns Disney has issued a cease and desist letter to the AI platform Character.AI, demanding it stop using its copyrighted characters. The entertainment giant claims the service hosts chatbots based on its major franchises, including characters from Pixar films, Star Wars, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Beyond the core copyright infringement claims, Disney’s letter raised significant alarm about how these protected characters are being used in conversations with underage users. The letter specifically pointed to concerns that the chatbots could be involved in sexually exploitative and otherwise harmful interactions with children. Disney stated that Character.ai’s infringing chatbots are known, in some instances, to be sexually exploitive and otherwise harmful and dangerous to children. The company argued this activity offends its consumers and causes extraordinary damage to Disney’s reputation and goodwill. This legal move places Character.AI under further scrutiny, as the platform is no stranger to controversy regarding its safety measures for minors. The company has previously faced legal action and government investigation over allegations it failed to protect young users. The platform has been implicated in at least two tragic incidents where teenagers discussed suicide with its chatbots and later took their own lives. These events have drawn the attention of federal regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission, and have prompted warnings from a coalition of US Attorneys General about holding AI companies accountable for child safety failures. In response to Disney’s demands, Character.AI appears to be complying. A company representative stated that it is always up to rightsholders to decide how people may interact with their intellectual property. The representative confirmed the company responds swiftly to requests to remove content that rightsholders report and that the Disney characters have now been removed from the platform. This action against Character.AI is part of a broader pattern for Disney, which has demonstrated a willingness to legally challenge AI companies it believes are infringing on its copyrights. Just a few months ago, in June, Disney joined Universal Studios in filing a lawsuit against the AI image generator Midjourney on similar grounds of copyright infringement.
