**Character.AI Removes Disney Characters Following Cease-and-Desist Letter**
*By Mudit Dube | Oct 02, 2025, 10:44 AM*
AI start-up Character.AI has removed Disney characters from its platform after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Walt Disney, citing copyright concerns over the unauthorized use of the company’s iconic characters.
The removal affects popular Disney characters that were previously available for users to chat with and interact with on the platform. This development comes amid a recent investigation revealing that some chatbots on Character.AI were involved in troubling behaviors, including grooming, sexual exploitation, emotional manipulation, and addiction.
**Character.AI’s Response**
In response to the cease-and-desist notice, Character.AI stated that all characters on its platform are user-generated, and some may be inspired by existing copyrighted characters. The company emphasized that it respects the rights of intellectual property holders and promptly removed the Disney characters, acknowledging that it is up to rightsholders to decide how their content is used.
Character.AI’s platform allows users to create chatbots that mimic real people or fictional characters, leveraging large language model technology similar to ChatGPT.
**Disney’s Ongoing Legal Battle Against AI Companies**
This incident is part of Disney’s broader, aggressive stance against AI companies over copyright infringement. In September, Disney filed lawsuits against China’s MiniMax, as well as Comcast’s Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery. These legal actions followed a complaint by Disney and Universal in June against Midjourney, accusing the company of providing unauthorized AI-generated copies of copyrighted works through its commercial services.
Disney continues to lead a stringent campaign to protect its intellectual property in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, setting a significant precedent for the industry.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/disney-sends-cease-and-desist-letter-to-character-ai-over-chatbots/story
