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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 01, 2026
West Covina sues city councilman over AI use By Joe Taglieri
PG 27
VOL. 15,
NO. 264
LA County files lawsuit against Roblox over child exploitation claims
joet@beaconmedianews.com
By City News Service
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he West Covina City Council voted 4-0 Tuesday to file a lawsuit against Councilman Brian Gutierrez for his alleged failure to comply with a public records request regarding his use of artificial intelligence during council meetings. Gutierrez countered that the lawsuit is an attempt to discredit him for reporting misconduct by city officials. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that after receiving a Public Records Act request last month from former West Covina Mayor Brian Tabatabai for documents and information Gutierrez used or viewed during more than two dozen council meetings, he produced only a handful of documents that appeared largely miscellaneous, according to the city’s announcement of the legal action. City officials also allege that despite Gutierrez’s admitted use of generative artificial intelligence in the performance of his council duties, he failed or refused to produce his prompts or chats with the AI chatbots he uses. When asked by the City Clerk’s Office to at least preserve his records of AI use, Gutierrez responded in a manner that suggested he did not intend to do so, officials said. “We regret that the city was forced to take this action, but, as set forth in the Writ of Mandate filed last night, Mr. Gutierrez is withholding public records in his personal possession and even appears to claim that he does not need to preserve them,” Acting City Manager Milan Mrakich said in a statement Wednesday. “The City is required by state law to comply with all California Public Records Act requests, and Mr. Gutierrez actions could subject the city to significant liabil-
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Photo by Oberon Copeland @veryinformed.com / Unsplash
West Covina City Councilman Brian Gutierrez. | Photo courtesy of Rowland Heights Unified School District/Facebook
ity.” Gutierrez released a statement following the lawsuit’s filing. “West Covina residents deserve transparency, due process, and public safety — not retaliation, selective enforcement, intimidation, or backroom decision-making,” he said. “They lied to the court, saying I used a personal laptop during council meetings,” Gutierrez said in a phone interview with HeySoCal.com. “This is a misleading, malicious lawsuit. At no point did I say I was not going to comply with (the public records request).” According to Gutierrez’s prepared statement, “This dispute began when a former mayor submitted a Public Records Act request that was then used as the basis to target a sitting councilmember. I complied in good faith by producing information I could reasonably produce and by repeatedly attempting to transmit documents when technical issues arose. “Where legitimate legal questions existed about scope, I raised them responsibly. That is not refusal — that is governance.”
The District 1 councilman contends that “at no point did the City Clerk’s Office or the City Attorney’s Office call me — or otherwise clearly notify me — that I was still missing documents or that my production was deficient. I was never given a specific itemized list of what the city claimed was missing, and I was never given a reasonable opportunity to cure before litigation was authorized. “Instead, the council majority escalated straight to a lawsuit against me. In my opinion, that decision was not driven by a goodfaith desire to resolve a records issue — it was driven by politics and retaliation.” A bullet-pointed entry in the city’s lawsuit document says the public records request sought: • “Documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, presentations, notes, agendas, or draftmaterials • “Emails or messages related to city business that were opened or viewedduring meetings • “Web-based documents or applications accessed during See Councilman Page 27
meetings • “Any electronic materials referenced, reviewed, or consulted duringpublic meetings.” Gutierrez said he has Aspergers’ syndrome, which is a form of autism. He has “a documented disability and formally approved accommodations” that require city officials call or verbally inform him when there is a compliance concern or an allegation that something is missing, according to Gutierrez’s statement. “That did not happen. No one called me. No one verbally identified a specific missing document,” he said. “No one gave me an itemized list or a meaningful opportunity to cure before litigation was authorized.” Gutierrez also criticized the law firm representing the city in the suit against him. “I also have serious concerns about the city’s reliance on outside counsel, including Buchalter, in matters now being used to litigate against a sitting councilmember,” Gutierrez said. He listed concerns about law firm
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os Angeles County filed a lawsuit Thursday against gaming platform Roblox, alleging the company engaged in unfair and deceptive business practices that exposed children to sexual content, exploitation and online predators. The civil complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, alleges Roblox failed to implement adequate moderation and age-verification safeguards despite marketing the platform as a safe space for children. County officials contend the company prioritized profit over child safety, allowing sexually explicit content, inappropriate interactions and grooming to occur on the platform. “This lawsuit is about protecting children from online predators and inappropriate content,” Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis said in a statement. “Roblox has a responsibility to keep kids safe, but instead it has allowed its platform to become a place where children can be exposed to grooming and exploitation.” Roblox reports more than 151 million daily active users and over 380 million monthly users worldwide, with more than 40% under age 13, and nearly 75% of
See Roblox Page 28
U.S. children ages 9 to 12 playing on the platform regularly, according to the statement. The lawsuit alleges Roblox failed to adequately moderate user- generated content, enforce age restrictions or disclose the extent of inappropriate material and risks posed by sexual predators on the platform. The lawsuit was filed by County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison on behalf of the People of the State of California. “This is not about a minor lapse in safety. It is about a company that gives pedophiles powerful tools to prey on innocent and unsuspecting children,” Harrison said. “The trauma that results is horrific, from grooming to exploitation to actual assault. This needs to stop.” The county claims violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law and is seeking injunctive relief, abatement and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation per day. In a statement provided to City News Service Thursday, Roblox rejected the allegations. “We strongly dispute the claims in this lawsuit and