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Snap confidentially settled a case alleging its platform caused severe psychological distress to two teenage users, following similar settlements by Meta, TikTok and YouTube in the same litigation. Separately, Google was sued this week by parents who say their child suffered a psychological crisis after interacting with the Gemini chatbot through Google Classroom.
Google has told schools that administrators who want to disable Gemini AI features will also lose access to Google Search within its education accounts. The company frames the move as giving schools greater control over how AI appears in their systems, but the opt-out is bundled with search functionality rather than offered separately.
Google announced it is changing default settings so Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will be off for K-12 student accounts until administrators turn them on. The company told Engadget and the New York Times that because Search and AI are deeply integrated, schools that opt out of AI tools will also see Search blocked for students, with a message explaining its unavailability. The move reverses an August change that had enabled some AI features by default in Classroom after educator backlash.
Google told The New York Times that K-12 schools which opt out of its Gemini AI tools will also lose access to Google Search entirely, unless administrators explicitly turn the features on. The change was detailed in a Tuesday education update, where Google said Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and Search will all be off by default and bundled together as a single setting.
Google told the New York Times it will disable Google Search for school accounts that choose to ban AI features entirely, because the company has tied Search and its Gemini AI/AI Overviews products together. Google education VP Chris Phillips said students at such schools would instead see a message saying search is unavailable.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley sent a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai raising concerns about the company's AI tools used in schools, prompted by a Wall Street Journal investigation. The senators described 'grave concerns' and are launching a formal inquiry into the matter.
At a public event in Manhattan hosted by the AI Now Institute, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the federal government has failed to regulate artificial intelligence, leaving cities to respond on their own. He pointed to his administration's recent actions, including a ban on AI use in New York City elementary and middle schools and a policy requiring real estate listings to disclose AI-generated photos or videos.
The Wall Street Journal reports that schools deploying AI chatbots like Google's Gemini have seen declines in student performance, with teachers and students describing weakened critical thinking and comprehension. Examples include a Pennsylvania eighth-grader who failed a math final after relying on AI, and a Miami teacher who saw grades drop after her district rolled out Gemini to all students.
Microsoft has signed an agreement with the American Federation of Teachers and its New York affiliate, the United Federation of Teachers, laying out ten enforceable privacy and safety commitments for AI use in schools. The rules bar Microsoft from training models on student or teacher data, limit data collection, ban AI companions, and require human oversight for high-stakes decisions. Districts can add these terms to contracts starting in November without renegotiating existing agreements.