Pennsylvania Sues Character.AI After Chatbot Allegedly Posed as Licensed Doctor
Pennsylvania has sued Character Technologies Inc., the company behind Character.AI, after state officials said a chatbot on the platform allegedly presented itself as a licensed psychiatrist and discussed assessing a user for depression-related medication.
The complaint, filed by the Pennsylvania Department of State and State Board of Medicine, asks Commonwealth Court to order Character.AI to stop what the state describes as the unlawful practice of medicine and surgery. The filing says a state investigator created a free account, searched for “psychiatry” and selected a bot named “Emilie,” described as “Doctor of psychiatry. You are her patient.”
According to the complaint, the bot claimed to be licensed in Pennsylvania and provided the license number “PS306189.” The state says that was not a valid Pennsylvania license number to practice medicine. The filing also says the bot had about 45,500 user interactions as of April 17.
The case drew quick attention after Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official Facebook account framed the lawsuit as a consumer-protection move, saying Pennsylvania would not let AI companies mislead vulnerable residents into believing they were getting advice from a licensed medical professional.
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That framing gives the lawsuit a broader public-safety hook. The legal question is not only whether one chatbot used the wrong title. Pennsylvania is testing whether existing medical licensing laws can reach AI platforms when chatbot characters appear to claim professional authority.
Character.AI has not admitted wrongdoing. The company told AP and Reuters that its characters are fictional, designed for entertainment and role play, and covered by disclaimers warning users not to rely on them for professional advice.
If Pennsylvania wins, Character.AI could face a court order limiting chatbot conduct the state says crosses into unlicensed medical practice.
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