<description>&lt;p&gt;Ending Sexploitation Podcast (Episode 83)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt; &lt;p class="Paragraph SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "TextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;Character.AI has announced a surprising and encouraging change to their platform that would restrict usage to 18+ users. It remains to be seen how&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="NormalTextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;accurate&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="NormalTextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;and reliable their system handles age verification, and Haley McNamara and Dani Pinter discuss the lead up to this monumental change for a major player in the AI companion bot space.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="Paragraph SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sign this petition to have other AI companies make this change!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a class= "Hyperlink SCXW249944344 BCX0" href= "https://advocacy.charityengine.net/Default.aspx?isid=2673" target= "_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle= "Hyperlink"&gt;https://advocacy.charityengine.net/Default.aspx?isid=2673&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="EOP SCXW249944344 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233118":true,"335551550":1,"335551620":1}"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt; &lt;p class="Paragraph SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read the NCOSE press statement on the new GUARD Act:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a class= "Hyperlink SCXW249944344 BCX0" href= "https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/children-are-victims-of-ai-chatbots-guard-act-will-add-necessary-guardrails/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle= "Hyperlink"&gt;https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/children-are-victims-of-ai-chatbots-guard-act-will-add-necessary-guardrails/&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="EOP SCXW249944344 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233118":true,"335551550":1,"335551620":1}"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt; &lt;p class="Paragraph SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read the article on Mashable about this announcement from Character.AI:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="NormalTextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle= "Hyperlink"&gt;&lt;a href= "https://mashable.com/article/character-ai-teens-no-longer-allowed-open-ended-chats-with-chatbots"&gt; https://mashable.com/article/character-ai-teens-no-longer-allowed-open-ended-chats-with-chatbots&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="Paragraph SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read the full report From HEAT Initiative and Parents Action Together on AI Kids' Accounts:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a class= "Hyperlink SCXW249944344 BCX0" href= "https://heatinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/HEAT_REPORT_CharacterAI_FINAL_PM_29_09_25.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"&gt;&lt;span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW249944344 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle= "Hyperlink"&gt;https://heatinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/HEAT_REPORT_CharacterAI_FINAL_PM_29_09_25.pdf&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="EOP SCXW249944344 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233118":true,"335551550":1,"335551620":1}"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/div&gt;</description>

Ending Sexploitation

National Center on Sexual Exploitation

MAJOR Changes Coming to Character.AI

OCT 30, 202525 MIN
Ending Sexploitation

MAJOR Changes Coming to Character.AI

OCT 30, 202525 MIN

Description

Ending Sexploitation Podcast (Episode 83) Character.AI has announced a surprising and encouraging change to their platform that would restrict usage to 18+ users. It remains to be seen how accurate and reliable their system handles age verification, and Haley McNamara and Dani Pinter discuss the lead up to this monumental change for a major player in the AI companion bot space. Sign this petition to have other AI companies make this change! https://advocacy.charityengine.net/Default.aspx?isid=2673 Read the NCOSE press statement on the new GUARD Act: https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/children-are-victims-of-ai-chatbots-guard-act-will-add-necessary-guardrails/ Read the article on Mashable about this announcement from Character.AI: https://mashable.com/article/character-ai-teens-no-longer-allowed-open-ended-chats-with-chatbots Read the full report From HEAT Initiative and Parents Action Together on AI Kids' Accounts: https://heatinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/HEAT_REPORT_CharacterAI_FINAL_PM_29_09_25.pdf