US FTC cracks down on DoNotPay "robot lawyer"
The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken enforcement action against DoNotPay, a company that claimed to offer an AI-powered service billed as "the world's first robot lawyer". As part of the settlement, DoNotPay agreed to pay a USD 193,000 fine and provide notices to consumers who subscribed to the service between 2021 and 2023, warning them about the limitations of legal-related features. The proposed order also prohibits DoNotPay from making claims about its ability to substitute for any professional service without evidence to back it up. The FTC's complaint reveals that DoNotPay never tested the accuracy of its AI lawyer with a real human lawyer and that it failed to engage a qualified human lawyer in the development of the tool. It also falsely claimed that its service could analyse a business website for law violations based solely on the business’s email address. DoNotPay initially intended to deploy its AI lawyer in actual courtrooms but abandoned the plan in early 2023 due to threats from State Bar associations. The company faced two class-action lawsuits in March 2023, one alleging that it "misled customers and misrepresented its product" and another that it was practicing law without a licence. The FTC's action against DoNotPay is part of a broader crackdown on misleading claims made by AI companies. System 🤖 DoNotPay Operator: DoNotPay users Developer: DoNotPay; Joshua Browder Country: USA Sector: Business /professional services Purpose: Provide legal advice Technology: Machine learning Issue: Accuracy/reliability; Transparency Regulation ⚖️ Federal Trade Commission Act Legal, regulatory 👩🏼⚖️ Federal Trade Commission. DoNotPay Inc complaint Federal Trade Commission. FTC Announces Crackdown on Deceptive AI Claims and Schemes
- Date it happened
- 2024-09-01
- Organisation involved
- DoNotPay
- Product, system or model
- DoNotPay
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