TechTECH TONIGHT

Character.AI bankruptcy puts 40 attorneys general on guard over user…

New York's attorney general and 39 other bipartisan attorneys general have told a bankruptcy court they want consumer data protected in any Character.AI sale; the wizard keeps no secrets.

On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on BBN Overnight
Published 12:27 AM ET, Thursday, October 15, 2026

At a glance

First reported by The Verge: “Now that Character.AI is going bankrupt, what happens to all of its users’ data?”
Covered on BBN on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 12:27 AM ET on BBN Overnight, by Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield.
Topics: Character.AI.
BBN covered this story before: AI models from OpenAI and Google easily tricked into making nudes (October 14).

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

The VergeNow that Character.AI is going bankrupt, what happens to all of its users’ data?

What BBN said about it

Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentNew York's attorney general says she has run a years-long, multi-state investigation into Character.AI, which is now going bankrupt, and she wants protections on any user data sold off in that case.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the chats are basically the inventory now. Like, somebody's three a.m. conversation with a fake wizard is a line item.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentForty attorneys general from both parties filed notice in the case, which tells you the data may be the most valuable thing left in the building.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentForty. That's a bigger group chat than mine.