Italy privacy watchdog fines Character.AI owner over age-check failures
Italy's data protection authority has fined the company behind Character.AI for failing to implement adequate age verification measures on its platform. The action reflects growing regulatory pressure in Europe to keep minors from accessing AI systems without appropriate safeguards.
Why this matters: Children were using a platform designed around intimate, open-ended AI conversations, and the company did not have serious controls to stop it. That is not a paperwork problem. Character.AI personas can go places a responsible adult would not. Italy is saying someone has to be accountable for that. A fine alone does not fix the design. But it does put other AI chat platforms on notice that 'we do not check ages' is no longer a defensible position in Europe.
Who should care: Lawyers · Privacy officers · Compliance · General readers · AI governance · Policy
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