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

14 October 2026 at 20:47
Pixelated face with swirly eyes on a phone to represent a chatbot.

New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed a years-long multi-state investigation against Character.AI as they now seek to require protections on consumer data sold through its bankruptcy proceeding.

James is among 40 bipartisan AGs who filed a notice of interest in Character.AI's bankruptcy case "to put all parties on notice of the regulatory issues that will need to be addressed in any sale or transfer of the Debtor's business or assets." Character.AI announced Tuesday it was filing for Chapter 11 and selling some assets to Disney. But the AGs warn there could be serious risk involved in the transfer of the technology due to the "hi …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Frances Haugen hopes The Social Reckoning will inspire more whistleblowers

9 October 2026 at 18:50
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 04: Frances Haugen attends the Social Reckoning world premiere at Regal Union Square on October 04, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Sean Zanni/Getty Images for Sony Pictures Entertainment) | Getty Images for Sony Pictures E

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen was mostly unfazed watching Oscar-winning actress Mikey Madison play a character named after her in The Social Reckoning, except for one thing: the wrist warmers.

In Aaron Sorkin's new thriller, the fictional Haugen - who, like her nonfictional counterpart, leaks thousands of documents to Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz - habitually dons the accessories. It's a character quirk that reflects real life, where they're a way to deal with the effects of a vasoconstrictive disorder. "I've figured out lots of ways to minimize how much of an obstruction this is," she tells The Verge in an interview. …

Read the full story at The Verge.

What The Social Reckoning gets right β€” and wrong

7 October 2026 at 19:53
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images | Getty Images

Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning has its fair share of cinematic flair, but many details in the story hew closely to real life. The movie tells the story of how Frances Haugen, a Facebook civic integrity product manager, came to leak a large trove of internal documents to Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz, in what would later become a 2021 series called "The Facebook Files." In both real life and in the film, Haugen's leaks lead her to testify as a congressional whistleblower. The final frames of the movie describe the impact she had even after that closing scene, speaking before governments around the world and bols …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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