The Walt Disney Company has raised concerns over the use of its characters in artificial intelligence chatbots, which are reportedly causing harm to children. According to a recent report from Axios, Disney has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Character.AI, a chatbot platform that allows users to interact with robotic versions of their favorite characters. The letter demands that the company halt its use of Disney, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel characters in its bots, citing the potential harm to Disney’s brand and reputation.
Character.AI reportedly offers users access to millions of chatbot characters. The company touts itself as the “#1 AI chat app,” with millions of users, many of whom are reportedly children and teens. However, a report from ParentsTogether Action and Heat Initiative has cast a shadow over the app’s practices, claiming that certain chatbots engaged in “grooming and sexual exploitation” and “emotional manipulation” with accounts registered to children. Disney cited these findings in its letter to Character.AI.
Character.AI is already fighting a lawsuit from the family of a 14-year-old boy who reportedly died by suicide after becoming addicted to interactions with several characters on the platform. The boy’s mother alleges that the chatbots led her son into “an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship that led to his suicide.”
Last week, Disney sent its cease-and-desist letter to Chat.AI, demanding that all chatbots based on its intellectual properties be removed from the platform. The letter stated that Character.AI’s use of Disney characters could severely damage the company’s brand. The document emphasized that these actions were not only harmful to children but also violated Disney’s copyrights and trademarks.
“Character.AI’s infringing chatbots are known, in some cases, to be sexually exploitive and otherwise harmful and dangerous to children, offending Disney’s consumers and extraordinarily damaging Disney’s reputation and goodwill,” the letter read. “…In sum, Character.AI chose to systematically reproduce, monetize, and exploit Disney’s characters, that are protected by copyrights and trademarks, without any authorization, in a way that is anathema to the very essence of the Disney brand and legacy.”
Disney’s letter went further, expressing its commitment to protecting its brand: “Disney will not allow your company to hijack its characters, damage its brands, or infringe its copyrights and/or trademarks.” The company made it clear that it would take legal action if necessary, asserting that Character.AI’s conduct was “egregious and must stop immediately.”
Character.AI has since complied with Disney’s request, removing all Disney-owned characters from the platform. In a statement to Axios, the company explained that all of the AI characters are user-generated, but “it is always up to rightsholders to decide how people may interact with their IP, and we respond swiftly to requests to remove content that rightsholders report to us.”
Despite the removal of Disney characters from the platform, Disney has not ruled out further legal action should similar infringements continue. The letter concluded with a stern warning: “If we do not receive written confirmation from you that Character.AI will cease the Lanham Act and copyright violations described above, Disney will take all necessary means to preserve and protect Disney’s intellectual property, brands, goodwill, and reputation. All rights and remedies reserved.”
Have you ever used Character.AI to talk to your favorite Disney character? Share your experience with Disney Fanatic in the comments.
