Character.AI · Character.ai Community Guidelines · View original document ↗

Law Enforcement Referral and Permanent Ban

High severity Medium confidence Explicitdocumentlanguage Unique · 0 of 325 platforms
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Document Record

What it is

Character.AI states it can permanently close your account or refer you to law enforcement if it determines your behavior is a serious violation of its rules.

This analysis describes what Character.AI's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

The provision asserts broad enforcement discretion including law enforcement referral without defining what constitutes a 'serious case' or describing any notice, appeal, or procedural safeguard for affected users.

Interpretive note: The provision does not define 'serious cases' or describe procedural standards for referrals, leaving the scope of enforcement discretion ambiguous.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Users who are subject to this provision could face permanent loss of account access or law enforcement contact without a described appeal process, based on Character.AI's unilateral determination that a violation is serious.

How other platforms handle this

Meta Medium

We may access, preserve, and share information with regulators, law enforcement, or others if we believe it is reasonably necessary to: detect, prevent, and address fraud and other illegal activity; protect ourselves, you, and others, including as part of investigations; and prevent death or imminen...

Dun & Bradstreet Medium

To the extent lawfully permissible, you acknowledge, consent and agree that Dun & Bradstreet shall also have the right to access, preserve and disclose your account information and content if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access preservation or disclosure is reasonably...

Gemini Medium

This Privacy Policy explains what Personal Information (as defined below) we collect, why we collect it, how we use and disclose it... [Gemini may share data with] government or law enforcement agencies upon request.

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Monitoring

Character.AI has changed this document before.

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
When content or behavior violates our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, we may remove content, issue warnings, or suspend accounts. In serious cases, we may permanently ban users or report them to law enforcement. These actions help protect the community and support the kind of space we want to build together.

— Excerpt from Character.AI's Character.ai Community Guidelines

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: The law enforcement referral provision may interact with privacy frameworks including GDPR (in EU/EEA contexts) and the UK Data Protection Act regarding disclosure of personal data to third-party authorities, which typically require a lawful basis such as a legal obligation or legitimate interest assessment. The FTC Act's unfair or deceptive practices standard may be relevant if users are not given adequate notice of the circumstances under which referrals occur. State consumer protection statutes may impose additional notice obligations. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High. The absence of defined thresholds or procedural safeguards for law enforcement referrals creates meaningful legal exposure, particularly in jurisdictions with strong due process or data protection norms. The breadth of enforcement discretion in this clause is broader than what is disclosed in some comparable platform policies, which often enumerate referral triggers or require internal escalation review. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU and UK users have heightened exposure given GDPR and UK GDPR requirements around lawful basis for disclosing personal data to authorities. California users may have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act regarding disclosure of their information. Minors are a particularly sensitive population given additional statutory protections. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Procurement and legal teams reviewing this policy for enterprise or institutional use should note the absence of a defined escalation procedure. The policy does not describe indemnification or liability allocation associated with law enforcement referrals that may implicate third parties. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should evaluate whether the platform's internal escalation and decision-making process for law enforcement referrals is documented and whether a lawful basis assessment exists for GDPR-covered users. Consider whether user-facing notice of referral thresholds should be added to meet transparency obligations under applicable frameworks.

Full compliance analysis

Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC has authority over unfair or deceptive practices by online platforms, including insufficient disclosure of enforcement actions affecting consumer accounts
    File a complaint →
  • State AG
    State Attorneys General may have jurisdiction over consumer protection claims arising from account termination without notice or procedural safeguards
    File a complaint →

Applicable regulations

CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
Connecticut Data Privacy Act Amendments
US-CT
CAN-SPAM
United States Federal
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
GDPR
European Union
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
US-IN
Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act
US-KY
UK GDPR
United Kingdom
Universal Opt-Out Mechanism Expansion 2026
US
VPPA
United States Federal

Provision details

Document information
Document
Character.ai Community Guidelines
Entity
Character.AI
Document last updated
May 11, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 11, 2026
Last verified
May 11, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-010611
Document ID
CA-D-00780
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
ec0a9230a377aef5831a06c6ed9e3bbc7b54344595a80c04401a4ca4fe5a8d48
Analysis generated
May 11, 2026 12:24 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Character.AI
Document: Character.ai Community Guidelines
Record ID: CA-P-010611
Captured: 2026-05-11 12:24:11 UTC
SHA-256: ec0a9230a377aef5…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/characterai/characterai-community-guidelines/law-enforcement-referral-and-permanent-ban/
Accessed: May 13, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
High
Categories

Other risks in this policy

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Character.AI's Law Enforcement Referral and Permanent Ban clause do?

The provision asserts broad enforcement discretion including law enforcement referral without defining what constitutes a 'serious case' or describing any notice, appeal, or procedural safeguard for affected users.

How does this clause affect you?

Users who are subject to this provision could face permanent loss of account access or law enforcement contact without a described appeal process, based on Character.AI's unilateral determination that a violation is serious.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Character.AI?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Character.AI.