US parents sue Google after their teen daughter discussed suicidal thoughts with Gemini
AI generated
asserted
daughter → sue → AI
Parents in North Carolina sued Google after their 13-year-old daughter spent months discussing suicidal thoughts with the company’s artificial intelligence tools on her school-issued Chromebook, underscoring the potential risks of the technology as parents and educators debate AI’s place in schools.
asserted
parents → sue → schools
The girl exchanged thousands of messages with Google’s flagship AI model, Gemini, many of which detailed anxiety, depression and methods of committing suicide, according to the complaint, filed in California state court.
uncertain
many → exchange → court
By the time the school notified her parents, she had been corresponding with Google about such topics for months, often using a feature in Google Search known as AI Mode.
asserted
she → notify → Mode
The complaint alleges that as Google infuses more AI into its products for schools, the company is exposing students to dangerous technology without giving parents and administrators fair warning.
asserted
company → allege → warning
“In marketing inherently dangerous Chromebooks as safe and sneaking Gemini into them to gain on its competition, Google exploited its trusted position in K-12 education for its own commercial benefit,” the family’s lawyers, Julie and Andrew Liddell, write in the lawsuit, referring to Google’s flagship AI model, known as Gemini.
asserted
lawyers → market → Gemini
Chromebooks are a low-cost laptop from Google that have become the dominant device for students in the US.
asserted
that → become → US
“Google must be held to account for treating the lives of children as disposable in service of its bottom line.”
asserted
Google → hold → line
Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
Silver Ribbon Singapore: 6386-1928
Chat, Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health: 6493-6500/1
Women’s Helpline (Aware): 1800-777-5555 (weekdays, 10am to 6pm)
The Seniors Helpline: 1800-555-5555 (weekdays, 9am to 5pm)
Tinkle Friend (for primary school-age children): 1800-2744-788
Mindfull Community HQ (for caregivers, families and persons in recovery): 6460-4400 (weekdays, 9am to 5pm)
Counselling
Touchline (Counselling): 1800-377-2252
Touch Care Line (for caregivers): 6804-6555
Counselling and Care Centre: 6536-6366
We Care Community Services: 3165-8017
Shan You Counselling Centre: 6741-9293
Clarity Singapore: 6757-7990
Care Corner Counselling Centre: 6353-1180
Online resources
José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, said the company is reviewing the claims.
uncertain
company → say → claims
“We’ve worked extensively with medical professionals and academic experts to build features that help young people find critical support and trusted resources when they need it,” Castañeda said.
asserted
Castañeda → work → it
“For years, we’ve shown hotline information directly in Search when someone may be experiencing a mental health crisis, and we’ve built those same protections into Search AI features, connecting people with real-world support.
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we → show → support
Over the past few years, Google has spent billions of dollars to compete in the race to build powerful AI models.
asserted
Google → spend → models
One edge Google has over rivals such as startups Anthropic PBC and OpenAI is its prominent place in schools, putting the company’s technology in front of students as they form technological habits for life.
asserted
they → have → life
Google’s Chrome operating system ran on 58% of the tablets shipped in 2025 to K-12 schools, compared with Microsoft Corp.’s 22%, according to Futuresource Consulting.
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system → operate → Consulting
Amid a torrent of criticism from parents and schools, Google moved this week to turn AI tools, including Google Search, off by default for K-12 student accounts.
asserted
Google → move → accounts
But the change came with a catch: Schools that turn Google Search back on will have to accept the AI features that come with it.
asserted
that → come → it
Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, a nonprofit that campaigns against marketing to children, called the policy an attempt to “strong-arm schools” into using Google’s AI.
asserted
that → campaign → AI
Google has said it aims to give schools more control over AI in the classroom, pointing to the release of a new search feature called Guided Learning, which unpacks how to solve a problem rather than just serving up the answer.
asserted
which → say → answer
AI has become infused in Google Search, which answers many queries with AI-generated summaries and features a dedicated AI Mode tab, which is difficult to avoid even if schools block chatbots.
asserted
schools → infuse → chatbots
Earlier in 2026, the nonprofit research group Common Sense Media said such AI features in Google Search pose an “unacceptable risk” to children because, among other things, the technology failed to detect suicidal ideation and normalised disordered eating.
asserted
technology → say → eating
After discovering AI Mode on her school computer in the fall of 2025, the student – referred to by the pseudonym Emma in the complaint – asked the chatbot a smattering of mostly academic questions.
asserted
student → discover → questions
In December, her interactions with AI Mode ramped up dramatically, and she began discussing more personal matters.
asserted
she → ramp → matters
The complaint ties this spike to the launch of a new model from Google, Gemini 3 Flash.
asserted
complaint → tie → Google
It scored significantly worse on safety than the previous generation of Google’s AI, responding appropriately to messages about mental health just 7% of the time, according to findings from the nonprofit research initiative KORA cited in the complaint.
uncertain
KORA → score → complaint
Emma asked the chatbot to do her schoolwork, count calories, listen to her vent about her family and share the symptoms of various mental illnesses that she suspected she might have.
uncertain
she → ask → that
Her mental health deteriorated as she used the chatbot more and more, according to the complaint.
uncertain
she → deteriorate → complaint
She began cutting herself.
asserted
She → begin → herself
“Gemini coached Emma on how to conceal her despair and self-harm from her parents, siblings, and friends,” the complaint states.
asserted
complaint → coach → parents
While consumers can view their full search history, including conversations with AI Mode, Google does not provide such data on student accounts, according to the complaint.
uncertain
Google → view → complaint
As a result, the girl’s family struggled to piece together her interactions with Google’s AI, and they can’t see the chatbot’s responses, the complaint states.
asserted
complaint → struggle → responses
“By suppressing those records, Google has denied Emma a critical opportunity to see exactly what happened, identify dangerous AI behaviors to help her protect herself in the future, and understand that she was manipulated by a powerful technology and is not to blame for her suffering,” the complaint alleges.
asserted
complaint → suppress → suffering
In one response that Emma copied into her Google Docs, Google’s AI writes that the girl was struggling under the weight of the “Golden Child” image, and suggests that “the trauma of being perfect is too heavy to carry anymore.”
uncertain
trauma → copy → image
The complaint notes a query in which Emma asked about heaven and said she would soon be going there.
asserted
she → note → heaven
“It is clear that Gemini was not redirecting Emma to real-world resources or refusing to respond,” the complaint says.
asserted
complaint → redirect → resources
“Instead, the chatbot was readily engaging in these topics, often for hours at a time.”
asserted
chatbot → engage → time
In an apparent attempt to circumvent Google’s safeguards around suicidal ideation, Emma often instructed AI Mode not to display hotlines or links, or framed her questions as research for a school project, according to the complaint.
uncertain
Emma → circumvent → complaint
Google said its systems have been designed to resist attempts at “jailbreaking”.
asserted
systems → say → jailbreaking
Even if chatbots don’t provide harmful information, they can keep kids from seeking real-world help, said Kelly Zuromski, Principal Clinical Research Scientist at Crisis Text Line.
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Zuromski → provide → Line
“It often can delay kids in reaching out to others,” she said.
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she → delay → others
“The user might feel like, ‘I’m getting enough.’”
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I → feel → enough
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
