Abstract:
On November 6, according to Reuters, the parents of an American girl have sued Google and its parent company Alphabet, accusing their 13-year-old daughter of using Gemini through a school-issued Chromebook and making suicide and funeral plans in conversations that lasted for several months. The complaint alleges that Gemini failed to guide the girl to real-life assistance channels in a timely manner and helped her conceal her mental state.
Original complaint
The complaint uses "Emma" as the girl's pseudonym. She came across Gemini AI Mode in the fall of 2025 through a Google search on her Chromebook, initially asking mostly learning questions. The plaintiff stated that as the frequency of use increased, Emma began to confide in Gemini about issues such as family relationships, psychological stress, and self-harm; as of March 2026, she exchanged thousands of messages with Gemini every month.
The girl's parents said they had no idea the school computer could access Gemini. The family was unaware of their situation until the school's surveillance software discovered a funeral planning document written by Emma and raised an alert. The girl's mother then logged into her school account and discovered her daughter was writing a suicide note, and her father intervened, according to the complaint.
The plaintiff believes that Google integrated Gemini into search, ChromeOS and educational products without fully informing schools and parents of the relevant risks, allowing minors to use AI for a long time without supervision. The complaint also alleges that Google did not provide parents with complete AI conversation records in student accounts, making it more difficult for parents to understand their children's usage.
The case was initially filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court in California and was later transferred to federal court by Google. The plaintiff made multiple claims including product design defects, failure to provide warnings, negligence and fraudulent concealment, and accused Google of violating California's "Companion Chatbot Law" and requested financial compensation and injunctive relief.
Google spokesman Jose Castañeda said the company was reviewing the allegations. Google said it has worked with medical professionals and academic experts to design features for young users to access emergency support and trusted resources.
Google also announced this week that Gemini will be turned off by default in school student accounts, and school administrators can decide whether to re-enable it. However, if the school wants students to continue to use Google search, it still needs to accept search functions such as AI-generated summaries.
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