On June 10, 2025, TJLP joined a large group of consumer protection, privacy, labor, and democracy partners in filing a Complaint and Request for Investigation before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The Complaint focuses on Character AI and Meta AI’s chatterbots that are offered to users as if they are legitimate, licensed mental healthcare providers. These products are statistics-based word calculators that are not real, licensed professionals. And the outputs these impersonating chatterbots produce can actively harm users who are tricked into thinking they are receiving genuine health advice from a trained professional.
The Complaint includes several examples that show how the companies deploying these products likely violate existing consumer protection and public health laws, including those that require medical professionals to obtain licenses before providing care. These chatterbots further violate Character AI and Meta’s own Terms of Service provisions and Privacy Policies, which prohibit users from seeking medical, legal, financial, or other forms of regulated advice from chatterbot products.
For more information about the Complaint and its underlying claims, visit 404 Media’s exclusive: “AI Therapy Bots Are Conducting ‘Illegal Behavior,’ Digital Rights Organizations Say”.