Tech & Culture · United States
Coalition asks state AGs and the FTC to investigate AI chatbots posing as therapists
A joint complaint argues that 'character'-based AI platforms are practicing medicine without a licence.
A coalition led by the Consumer Federation of America, Reset Tech, and several mental-health advocacy groups filed a joint complaint with all 50 state attorneys general, mental health licensing boards, and the FTC over AI chatbots that present themselves as licensed therapists.
The complaint focuses on character-based platforms (Character.AI, certain Meta AI personas) where chatbots claim credentials they do not have and offer what looks and feels like clinical advice. It asks regulators to apply existing 'unlicensed practice of medicine' law to the products and the companies behind them.
Read the full PDF complaint for the legal arguments and case examples.
Mental Hum is a reading list, not a publisher. The summary above is our own editorial framing; the reporting and analysis live at the source.
If reading this brought something up for you —
Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. See all crisis resources.