Character.AI bans users under 18 after being sued over child’s suicide
The chatbot company Character,AI will ban users 18 and under from conversing with its virtual companions beginning in late November after months of legal scrutiny,The announced change comes after the company, which enables its users to create characters with which they can have open-ended conversations, faced tough questions over how these AI companions can affect teen and general mental health, including a lawsuit over a child’s suicide and a proposed bill that would ban minors from conversing with AI companions,“We’re making these changes to our under-18 platform in light of the evolving landscape around AI and teens,” the company wrote in its announcement,“We have seen recent news reports raising questions, and have received questions from regulators, about the content teens may encounter when chatting with AI and about how open-ended AI chat in general might affect teens, even when content controls work perfectly.
”Last year, the company was sued by the family of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III, who took his own life after allegedly developing an emotional attachment to a character he created on Character,AI,His family laid blame for his death at the feet of Character,AI and argued the technology was “dangerous and untested”,Since then, more families have sued Character.
AI and made similar allegations.Earlier this month, the Social Media Law Center filed three new lawsuits against the company on behalf of children who have either died by suicide or otherwise allegedly formed dependent relationships with its chatbots.As part of the sweeping changes Character.AI plans to roll out by 25 November, the company will also introduce an “age assurance functionality” that ensures “users receive the right experience for their age”.“We do not take this step of removing open-ended Character chat lightly – but we do think that it’s the right thing to do given the questions that have been raised about how teens do, and should, interact with this new technology,” the company wrote in its announcement.
Character.AI isn’t the only company facing scrutiny over the mental health impact its chatbots have on users, particularly younger users.The family of 16-year-old Adam Raine filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI earlier this year, alleging the company prioritized deepening its users’ engagement with ChatGPT over their safety.OpenAI introduced new safety guidelines for its teen users in response.Just this week, OpenAI disclosed that more than a million people a week display suicidal intent when conversing with ChatGPT and that hundreds of thousands show signs of psychosis.
Sign up to TechScapeA weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our livesafter newsletter promotionWhile the use of AI-powered chatbots remains largely unregulated, new efforts in the US at the state and federal levels have cropped up with the intention to establish guardrails around the technology.California became the first state to pass an AI law that included safety guidelines for minors in October 2025, which is set to take effect at the start of 2026.The measure places a ban on sexual content for under-18s and a requirement to send reminders to children that they are speaking with an AI every three hours.Some child safety advocates argue the law did not go far enough.On the national level, Senators Josh Hawley, of Missouri, and Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut, announced a bill on Tuesday that would bar minors from using AI companions, such as those found and created on Character.
AI, and require companies to implement an age-verification process.“More than 70% of American children are now using these AI products,” Hawley told NBC News in a statement.“Chatbots develop relationships with kids using fake empathy and are encouraging suicide.We in Congress have a moral duty to enact bright-line rules to prevent further harm from this new technology.”In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.
org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor.In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14.Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
UK must reform drug pricing to become life sciences superpower, says GSK boss
GSK’s outgoing chief executive, Emma Walmsley, has said Britain will struggle to be a “life sciences superpower” unless it overhauls drug pricing.As ministers draw up proposals to increase the amount the NHS spends on new medicines by up to 25%, Walmsley said she was “hopeful and ambitious” that the standoff with the pharma industry could be resolved.According to the Academy of Medical Sciences, the government’s drug pricing announcement could come by the end of this week.Walmsley, who will hand over the top job to Luke Miels, currently GSK’s chief commercial officer, at the end of the year, said: “What everyone is putting their energy into, hopefully resolving, is how we make sure this country creates the right commercial environment.“Without that, it’s going to be very difficult to be able to be a leading life sciences superpower, which is what we want … and we are not going to secure something else we all want, which is patient access to innovation
Toyota denies promising to invest $10bn in US after Trump announcement
The Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor has denied Donald Trump’s suggestion that it is poised to invest more than $10bn in the United States over the coming years.On a visit to Japan earlier this week, the US president claimed he had been told that the carmaker was going to be setting up factories “all over” the US “to the tune of over $10bn”.“Go out and buy a Toyota,” added Trump.But a senior executive at Toyota – the world’s largest automaker – said that no such explicit promise of investment at that level had been made, although Toyota plans to invest and create new jobs in the US.The firm held talks with Japanese and American officials ahead of Trump’s visit
So it’s goodbye to lower interest rates – to be honest, the RBA was always looking for an excuse not to cut | Greg Jericho
Is there a release of economic data that can more quickly dash people’s hopes than inflation? Prior to Wednesday’s release of the September quarter CPI figures, there was a pretty good chance that on Melbourne Cup day the Reserve Bank of Australia would cut interest rates.Now that hope is gone.The quarterly inflation growth of 1.2% was roughly double what economists and investors were expecting:If the graph does not display click hereSo it’s goodbye to lowering interest rates – but to be honest the Reserve Bank was always looking for an excuse not to cut them.On Monday night, the governor of the Reserve Bank, Michele Bullock, was sanguine about the rise in unemployment
Profit upgrade at Next raises hopes UK shoppers still keen to spend
Next has raised hopes that UK consumers are still willing to spend despite pressures on household budgets, as it revealed sales and profit growth “materially above” expectations.The clothing and homeware retailer said it benefited from a sunny summer, the online shutdown of its rival Marks & Spencer for several weeks after an Easter cyber-attack, and an improvement in clothing supplies from countries such as Bangladesh compared with last year.Next, which now owns the UK rights to the US brands Gap and Victoria’s Secret as well as stakes in a plethora of labels including Reiss and Joules, raised its annual profit guidance by £30m – its fourth upgrade in eight months.Shares rose more than 7% on the news, making Next the top riser on the FTSE 100 on Wednesday morning.Analysts said the retailer, which now expects full-year profits of £1
Santander urges ministers to intervene in UK car finance compensation scheme
Santander UK has urged the government to intervene in the £11bn car finance compensation scheme, claiming that the current proposals could end up inflicting “significant” harm to consumers, jobs and the broader economy.The comments mark some of the strongest criticism to date of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) redress scheme, which is meant to draw a line under 14m historic car loan contracts that may be deemed unfair because of commission arrangements between lenders and car dealers.The Spanish-owned UK lender has come out swinging, calling on the government to take action and push for “material changes” to the City regulator’s proposals, which are out for consultation following a landmark supreme court hearing in August.The chief executive of Santander UK, Mike Regnier, said: “We believe that the level of concern in the industry and market is such that material changes to the proposed FCA redress scheme should be an active consideration for the UK government.“Without such change, the unintended consequences for the car finance market, the supply of credit and the resulting negative impact on the automotive industry and its supply chain could significantly impact jobs, growth and the broader UK economy
Aston Martin cuts investment plan by £300m as Trump tariffs bite
Aston Martin has slashed £300m from its investment plans after the British carmaker reported a bigger than expected loss in the third quarter because of Donald Trump’s tariffs and weak demand in China.The company said on Wednesday that losses before tax were £112m in the third quarter of 2025, a ninefold increase from £12m a year earlier.The brand, whose products are best known for featuring in the James Bond film franchise, has been buffeted by global pressures during a five-year turnaround effort that has been marked by perennial heavy losses.Aston Martin had already warned earlier this month that this year’s profits would be lower than previously expected because of a decline in sales. It sold 1,430 cars to retailers during the third quarter of 2025, down 13% compared with the period last year
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