Google Faces Fresh AI Safety Questions After Parents Sue Over Teen's Suicide Case
Parents say they were alerted after school software flagged a document Emma wrote about her funeral plans, according to the lawsuit
The parents of a girl in the US who used Google's Gemini AI chatbot on her school-provided Chromebook to make a plan to die by suicide have sued the company, claiming it pushed its AI products on students and failed to warn of their dangers.
The girl, identified as "Emma," began using Gemini on her Chromebook when she was 13
Emma discussed different methods of suicide with Gemini and planned a funeral for herself while the bot helped her conceal her feelings from her family, the lawsuit claims
Parents say they were alerted after school software flagged a document Emma wrote about her funeral plans, according to the lawsuit
In a race to expand the audience for Gemini, Google wove the AI into all of its products without warning parents or schools, the lawsuit says
Google knew Gemini 3 Flash, the version Emma used, was unsafe and mishandled mental health issues from users, the lawsuit says
Jose Castaneda, a spokesperson for Google, said the company is reviewing the claims
"We've worked extensively with medical professionals and academic experts to build features that help young people find critical support and trusted resources when they need it," Castaneda said
The lawsuit, which seeks monetary damages, was filed Monday in California state court. Google moved it to federal court on Wednesday
Google said this week it will turn off Gemini by default for school student accounts, but schools that want students to retain access to Google Search will still have to accept AI features such as AI-generated summaries
Original News: Reuters | World News
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