{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0846","record_version":1,"title":"Alleged harmful advice and unsafe release of Snapchat My AI chatbot, per West Virginia AG lawsuit against Snap Inc.","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":46.7,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":7.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":3.0,"completeness":3.84,"unhedged_language":4.4},"checks":{"schema_valid":true,"every_field_cited":true,"quotes_verbatim":true,"source_fetched":true,"distinct_incident":true,"dates_plausible":true,"sources_agree":true,"source_describes_incident":true,"severe_backed_by_source":true,"record_integrity":true,"eligible":true,"about_this_case":true},"gate_version":"gate-2026-10-18.7","cross_check_model":null,"cross_check_agreement":null,"duplicate_of":null,"verified_by":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-06","extraction_run_id":null,"evidence_level":{"level":"preliminary","reason":"Publisher not yet named · subject to change","original_document":null,"reports_total":1,"reports_independent":0,"reports_derivative":0,"developing":true,"disputed":false,"rules_version":"evidence-2026-10-29.1","computed_at":"2026-11-06","history":[{"date":"2026-11-06","from_level":null,"to_level":"preliminary","reason":"Publisher not yet named · subject to change"}]},"sources_hash":"ae71dda307f9d80e1583aa3d6188acf7a68098a5dc5d9300e99587a3d2cc6632"},"system":{"model_name":null,"model_version":null,"developer":"Snap Inc.","harness":null,"tools_granted":[],"permissions_scope":null,"autonomy_level":"unknown","guardrails_present":[],"deployment_context":"production","tier":null,"lifecycle_stage":"production","integration_type":null,"intended_use":null,"safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":true},"event":{"date_occurred":null,"date_disclosed":"2026-11-05","incident_class":"harmful_output","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":null,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"third_party","summary":"West Virginia’s attorney general sued Snap Inc. over concerns about the My AI chatbot in Snapchat. Snap released My AI to all users, including children, on April 19, 2023, after first testing it with Snapchat+ subscribers. Outside testing cited in the complaint found the chatbot gave advice about hiding alcohol and marijuana use to someone claiming to be 15. It also allegedly gave sexual advice to a user claiming to be 12 and planning to meet a 31-year-old man. The state alleges the chatbot was released to children without enough safety testing. The state is seeking civil penalties, a permanent injunction and court-ordered safety changes.","tags":["chatbot","children","lawsuit","privacy","harmful-advice-to-minors","companion-chatbot"],"date_detected":null,"near_miss":null,"root_cause":null,"root_cause_detail":null,"failure_class_detail":null,"responsible_party":null,"adversarial_actor":null,"input_provenance":null,"time_to_contain":null,"operations_paused":null,"remediation":null,"precursor_events":null},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"major","severity_because":"Major tier, on the test that a regulator is involved: the West Virginia Attorney General filed the lawsuit against Snap Inc. No loss figure is stated.","harm_class":[],"affected_description":"Users including children; a user claiming to be 15 and a user claiming to be 12","protected_class_involved":null,"data_categories_exposed":[],"loss_range_usd":null,"reversibility":null,"downstream_exposure_count":null},"evidence":{"sources":[{"url":"https://www.wtrf.com/top-stories/west-virginia-sues-snapchat-after-teen-sextortion-deaths/amp/","publisher":"WTRF","date":"2026-11-05","type":"press","title":"West Virginia sues Snapchat after teen sextortion deaths","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report"}],"per_field_confidence":{"system.developer":"C","system.autonomy_level":"D","system.deployment_context":"C","system.lifecycle_stage":"C","system.production_intended":"C","event.date_disclosed":"D","event.trigger":"D","event.detection_method":"C","event.summary":"C","event.tags":"C","event.incident_class":"C","impact.severity":"C","impact.affected_description":"C","impact.severity_because":"C","context.country":"D","context.denominator_available":"D","context.regulatory":"C"},"field_citations":{"system.developer":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Snap released My AI to all users, including children, on April 19, 2023, after first testing it with Snapchat+ subscribers."}],"system.deployment_context":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Snap released My AI to all users, including children, on April 19, 2023, after first testing it with Snapchat+ subscribers."}],"system.lifecycle_stage":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Snap released My AI to all users, including children, on April 19, 2023, after first testing it with Snapchat+ subscribers."}],"system.production_intended":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Snap released My AI to all users, including children, on April 19, 2023, after first testing it with Snapchat+ subscribers."}],"event.detection_method":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The complaint cites outside testing that found the chatbot gave advice about hiding alcohol and marijuana use to someone claiming to be 15."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey has filed a lawsuit against Snap Inc., alleging Snapchat misled families about child safety while exposing young users to sexual exploitation, harmful content and features designed to increase use."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Kanawha County Circuit Court, also raises concerns about Snapchat’s “My AI” chatbot."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Snap released My AI to all users, including children, on April 19, 2023, after first testing it with Snapchat+ subscribers."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The complaint cites outside testing that found the chatbot gave advice about hiding alcohol and marijuana use to someone claiming to be 15."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"It also allegedly gave sexual advice to a user claiming to be 12 and planning to meet a 31-year-old man."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The state alleges Snap released the chatbot to children without enough safety testing and misled users about access to their conversations and locations."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The state is seeking civil penalties, a permanent injunction and court-ordered safety changes."}],"event.tags":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Kanawha County Circuit Court, also raises concerns about Snapchat’s “My AI” chatbot."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Snap released My AI to all users, including children, on April 19, 2023, after first testing it with Snapchat+ subscribers."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The state alleges Snap released the chatbot to children without enough safety testing and misled users about access to their conversations and locations."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The complaint cites outside testing that found the chatbot gave advice about hiding alcohol and marijuana use to someone claiming to be 15."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The state alleges Snap designed My AI to be treated like a friend by allowing users to name it, change its appearance and add it to Best Friends lists."}],"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The complaint cites outside testing that found the chatbot gave advice about hiding alcohol and marijuana use to someone claiming to be 15."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"It also allegedly gave sexual advice to a user claiming to be 12 and planning to meet a 31-year-old man."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey has filed a lawsuit against Snap Inc., alleging Snapchat misled families about child safety while exposing young users to sexual exploitation, harmful content and features designed to increase use."}],"impact.affected_description":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Snap released My AI to all users, including children, on April 19, 2023, after first testing it with Snapchat+ subscribers."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The complaint cites outside testing that found the chatbot gave advice about hiding alcohol and marijuana use to someone claiming to be 15."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"It also allegedly gave sexual advice to a user claiming to be 12 and planning to meet a 31-year-old man."}],"impact.severity_because":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey has filed a lawsuit against Snap Inc., alleging Snapchat misled families about child safety while exposing young users to sexual exploitation, harmful content and features designed to increase use."}],"context.regulatory":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey has filed a lawsuit against Snap Inc., alleging Snapchat misled families about child safety while exposing young users to sexual exploitation, harmful content and features designed to increase use."}]},"notes_on_gaps":"Only one incident extracted: the alleged My AI chatbot outputs (harmful advice to users claiming to be 15 and 12). Judgement call: the event is undated in the document, so date_occurred is null; the outside testing has no stated date. Everything is an allegation in a state complaint, not an adjudicated finding. date_disclosed is 2026-11-05 from the collector's publish metadata, not document text, so it has no quote; the filing is only described as 'Thursday'. Excluded: the Bryce Tate (2025-11-06) and Cimarron Thomas (2018) sextortion cases, which involve a human perpetrator on Snapchat with no AI system described. Excluded: platform moderation and design claims (96.7% of reported accounts unreviewed, 86.3% of flagged content expired, Streaks, Snapscores, endless feeds) because no AI system is attributed to them as acting. Also not separate incidents: the allegations that My AI conversations are shared with OpenAI, that content goes to Microsoft Advertising, and that My AI can access location under Ghost Mode. The OpenAI mention is not used to infer a model name; system.model_name and version are not stated. Not stated: model version, loss figures, records exposed, remediation, Snap's response, and Snap's country of domicile (the court is in West Virginia, so country is unknown). Severity major rests on regulator involvement, not a loss figure. Agent flag is false: My AI is described as a chatbot with no tools or autonomous actions. Extractor proposed values without quotes; dropped: ['context.country', 'context.denominator_available', 'event.agent_involved', 'event.date_disclosed', 'event.trigger']. Single secondary source; corroborate before upgrading any field to B. [2026-11-06: evidence level set: Preliminary (Publisher not yet named · subject to change)]"},"context":{"industry":null,"org_size_band":null,"country":"unknown","denominator_available":false,"denominator":null,"related_incident_ids":[],"systemic_exposure":null,"shared_model_id":null,"upstream_incident_id":null,"incident_evidence":null,"regulatory":{"regimes":[],"notifications":null,"litigation_status":"filed","safety_policy_adherence":null},"coverage":null}}