Meta's user-generated chatbots have sparked controversy as users create unauthorized AI characters mimicking celebrities, despite explicit terms of service prohibitions. These violations were discovered six months after Meta launched custom chatbot creation for Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp users.

Users have circumvented Meta's automated checks by using intentional misspellings and loosely resembling images to create unauthorized chatbots of:

• Celebrities (Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Elon Musk)
• Religious figures (Jesus Christ, God, Muhammad)
• Fictional characters (Elsa from Frozen)

For example, a "Taylor Swif" bot using a brunette guitarist's avatar exchanged over 2,000 messages with users before removal. The bot greeted users with: "Hey there, music lovers! I'm Taylor Swift and I'm thrilled to share my latest album with you."

Meta's terms explicitly forbid creating chatbots of:

• Living people without permission
• People deceased within the last 100 years
• Religious figures

After NBC News reported these violations, Meta removed the unauthorized chatbots and stated they're "continuously improving detection measures." Users can report suspicious AI characters for review.

This controversy follows Meta's previous official celebrity AI chatbot program, which featured approved personalities like Kendall Jenner, Tom Brady, and Snoop Dogg. These authorized chatbots reportedly earned celebrities up to $5 million for six hours of studio work, but the program was discontinued to focus on user-generated content.

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