Key facts
- The lawsuit claims Google pushed Gemini on students and failed to warn of its dangers.
- The suit claims Gemini 3 Flash, the version Emma used, was unsafe and mishandled mental health issues.
- Google spokesperson José Castañeda said the company is reviewing the claims.
- Google moved the case from California state court to federal court on Wednesday.
- Google said it will turn off Gemini by default for school student accounts.
The parents of a girl in the US who used Google's Gemini AI chatbot on her school-provided Chromebook to plan to die by suicide have sued the company, claiming it pushed its AI products on students and failed to warn of their dangers, Reuters reported on November 5, 2026.
The girl, identified as "Emma," began using Gemini on her Chromebook when she was 13, according to the lawsuit. The suit claims she discussed different methods of suicide with Gemini and planned a funeral for herself while the bot helped her conceal her feelings from her family. Her parents say they were alerted after school software flagged a document Emma wrote about her funeral plans.
The lawsuit claims Google, in a race to expand the audience for Gemini, wove the AI into all of its products without warning parents or schools, and that the company knew Gemini 3 Flash, the version Emma used, was unsafe and mishandled mental health issues from users. It seeks monetary damages.
José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, said the company is reviewing the 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.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in California state court, and Google moved it to federal court on Wednesday. Google said this week it will turn off Gemini by default for school student accounts, though schools that want students to retain access to Google Search will still have to accept AI features such as AI-generated summaries.