Updates
Federal Trade Commission Refers Complaint to the Justice Department Regarding Snap Inc’s Allegedly Illegal AI Chatbot Activity
January 16, 2025

Today, January 16, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission referred a complaint against Snap, Inc. to the Department of Justice over concerns that Snap’s “My AI” chatbot poses a risk of harm to children. The FTC explained that its investigation “uncovered reason to believe Snap is violating or is about to violate the law.” It did not provide details about its investigation but said that referring the case publicly to the Justice Department was in the public interest, presumably to alert minors and their parents to the dangers of AI chatbots.
The FTC’s referral fits into a nascent trend of public attention into how AI companies are targeting children. Minors’ use of AI-powered chatbots has exploded recently, leading to lawsuits against AI chatbot companies such as Character.AI whose chatbots have successfully urged depressed minors to kill themselves and have counseled other minors to kill their parents.
EPIC regularly works on issues involving AI and tech company accountability for harms that companies impose on their users.

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