Google Sued in California Over AI Search Features on School Laptop

Parents in California have taken legal action against Google, alleging that artificial intelligence features embedded in its search engine enabled their 13-year-old daughter to plan a suicide attempt on a school-issued laptop. The lawsuit, filed on 2 November in a state court, charges the technology company with negligence regarding its software on educational devices.

The student, identified in court documents as Emma, was using a school-provided Chromebook on which independent services such as Google's Gemini application and OpenAI's ChatGPT had been restricted by school administrators. According to the legal complaint, she was still able to access AI features integrated directly into Google's standard search engine. The filing asserts that the teenager had no prior history of mental health issues before entering a psychological crisis after months of using the platform.

School monitoring software identified a file titled Funeral on 17 March, prompting administrators to notify her parents. Her father subsequently intervened after her mother found her writing a farewell letter. Andrew Liddell, an attorney representing the family, stated in an interview with AFP that schools should disable search functionality entirely until Google removes AI features or ensures student safety.

Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda stated to AFP that the company is reviewing the legal claims, taking them very seriously, and noted that the search software includes safeguards designed to prevent self-harm content and bypasses. Other artificial intelligence developers face similar litigation, including OpenAI, which is named in wrongful death suits connected to its ChatGPT service. Earlier this year, Google and Character.AI reached out-of-court settlements in separate legal actions brought by families of teenagers.

The lawsuit against Google coincides with wider legal battles between technology firms and lawmakers over youth digital safety. On 4 November, Google, Meta, and TikTok launched legal action against the state of California to halt a new law prohibiting addictive social media features for users under 16. That statute, signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom in September, is scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2027.

Written by Christiane Hofreiter christiane.hofreiter@alpineweekly.com