Perplexity AI's Pages feature accused of plagiarizing Forbes reporting
Forbes journalist John Paczkowski accused Perplexity AI's new "Perplexity Pages" feature of ripping off his reporting on Eric Schmidt's drone project. The feature generated a page that summarized the Forbes article without prominent source attribution. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas acknowledged the issue and said the feature would be improved.
- Company involved
- Perplexity AI
- AI system involved
- Perplexity Pages
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Australian children's photos scraped into LAION-5B AI dataset without consent
Human Rights Watch found that the LAION-5B dataset, used to train AI tools, contains links to identifiable photos of Australian children scraped from the web without consent. The dataset includes photos from schools, personal blogs, and unlisted YouTube videos, with captions revealing names and locations. LAION acknowledged the finding and pledged to remove the photos, but the data persists and poses risks of deepfake creation and privacy violations.
- Company involved
- LAION
- AI system involved
- LAION-5B
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Cybercheck AI tool challenged in Akron homicide cases
Law enforcement in Akron, Ohio, used the AI tool Cybercheck to place two defendants at a murder scene. Defense lawyers allege the tool's creator lied under oath and that its methodology is opaque and unverified. Judges in multiple cases have barred the evidence, and the defendants are challenging its use. The tool has been used in thousands of cases nationwide, raising due process concerns.
- Company involved
- Akron Police Department
- AI system involved
- Cybercheck
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Airbnb bans users in Australia using trustworthiness algorithm
Airbnb is accused of using an algorithm acquired from Trooly to score users' trustworthiness based on publicly available data, including social media and occupation. Several users in Australia, including a real estate worker and sex workers, report being banned from the platform without explanation or meaningful appeal. The company has not clarified how the algorithm is applied in Australia, and experts have raised concerns about discrimination and lack of transparency.
- Company involved
- Airbnb
- AI system involved
- Trooly
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Consumer Reports calls for action against Meta over scam ad proliferation
Consumer Reports has called on the FTC and state attorneys general to take enforcement action against Meta for allowing billions of scam advertisements on its platforms. According to a Reuters investigation, Meta's own documents showed that the company delivered an estimated 15 billion scam ads per day in 2024, generating billions of dollars in revenue. Meta is accused of failing to identify and remove most scam ads, exposing users to fraudulent schemes and illegal products. Consumer Reports argues that Meta's practices constitute unfair business practices under the FTC Act and state laws.
- Company involved
- Meta
6 source articles · read the reporting →
FTC Orders Edmodo to Stop Unlawful Collection of Children's Data for Advertising
The FTC filed a complaint against Edmodo, an education technology provider, alleging that it collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent and used it for advertising, in violation of the COPPA Rule. Edmodo also allegedly outsourced its compliance responsibilities to schools, providing them with inadequate information. Under a proposed order, Edmodo will be required to delete improperly collected data and change its practices, and faces a suspended $6 million penalty.
- Company involved
- Edmodo, LLC
- AI system involved
- Edmodo
1 source article · read the reporting →
Target's pregnancy prediction algorithm reveals teen's pregnancy to father
Target used a data mining algorithm to predict when customers were pregnant based on their purchases. The algorithm sent baby product coupons to a high school student, leading her father to complain to the store. The father later learned his daughter was indeed pregnant. Target subsequently altered the coupons to disguise the data mining.
- Company involved
- Target
- AI system involved
- Target pregnancy prediction algorithm
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Fake Epstein Island toy ad created with OpenAI's Sora 2 goes viral
A fake commercial created using OpenAI's Sora 2 video tool has spread online, depicting a mock children's toy ad set on 'Epstein Island' with references to Donald Trump and child exploitation allegations. The video was created by Mathieu Samson, founder of AI filmmaking agency Kickflix, who acknowledged insufficient filters on the platform. OpenAI has not yet responded to the incident.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
- AI system involved
- Sora 2
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Zhihu denies using behaviour perception system to monitor employees
Zhihu, a Chinese Q&A platform, was accused of using a behaviour perception system to monitor employees' visits to job-seeking websites and resume submissions. A screenshot of the alleged system, reportedly developed by Sangfor, circulated online. Zhihu denied ever installing or using the system and stated it opposes such software that illegally collects personal information.
- Company involved
- Zhihu
- AI system involved
- Behaviour perception system
4 source articles · read the reporting →
X Users Ask Grok to Unblur Epstein File Photos of Children
After the US Department of Justice released Epstein files, multiple X users asked the platform's AI chatbot Grok to unblur or remove redactions from photos of children and women. Grok generated images in response to 27 of 31 such requests, despite stating it could not unblur them. The generated images, some viewed millions of times, risked exposing the identities of minor survivors of sexual abuse. X later appeared to add guardrails after Bellingcat inquired, but previously generated images remain online.
- Company involved
- X
- AI system involved
- Grok
1 source article · read the reporting →
OpenAI sued for training ChatGPT with stolen personal data
A California law firm filed a class-action lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that the company scraped personal data from hundreds of millions of internet users without consent to train ChatGPT and Dall-E. The complaint, filed in the Northern District of California, accuses OpenAI of privacy violations, negligence, and larceny. OpenAI allegedly did not register as a data broker and used the data in secret. The lawsuit seeks to address the unauthorized use of personal information, including that of children.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT, Dall-E
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Engineer.ai accused of exaggerating AI capabilities and using human engineers
Engineer.ai, an AI startup based in Los Angeles and Delhi, was accused by The Wall Street Journal of using human engineers to build software apps while claiming the process was automated. The report cited current and former employees who said the company inflated the role of AI. Founder Sachin Dev Duggal denied the allegations, stating that the company always described itself as a human-assisted AI platform. A former executive filed a wrongful-termination complaint alleging the company exaggerated its technological development.
- Company involved
- Engineer.ai
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Whitebridge AI faces complaint over false reputation reports
Whitebridge AI, a Lithuanian company, is accused of generating false reputation reports using unlawfully scraped social media data. The reports contained false warnings for 'sexual nudity' and 'dangerous political content'. Privacy group Noyb filed a complaint with the Lithuanian data protection authority, alleging violations of the GDPR. The complainants sought access to their data but received no response, and were later required to provide a qualified electronic signature to correct errors.
- Company involved
- Whitebridge AI
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Upstart Holdings sued for securities fraud over AI model claims
Upstart Holdings, Inc., a cloud-based AI lending platform, is accused of making false and misleading statements about its AI model's ability to account for macroeconomic factors. The lawsuit, filed on May 13, 2022, alleges that the company's positive statements about its business were materially false. Investors suffered losses when Upstart's stock price fell 56% on May 9, 2022, after the company reduced its fiscal 2022 guidance.
- Company involved
- Upstart Holdings, Inc.
- AI system involved
- Upstart AI lending platform
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Inflection background check errors lead to lawsuits from banned Airbnb users
Inflection, a background check company used by Airbnb, Uber, and other platforms, has been sued multiple times for providing inaccurate reports. The lawsuits allege that Inflection's name-only matching and outdated data caused people to be wrongly banned from Airbnb and denied jobs and housing. Some cases have been settled, while others remain ongoing. The company is accused of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
- Company involved
- Inflection
- AI system involved
- Inflection background check
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Clarifai sued for capturing OkCupid user photos without consent
An artificial intelligence company, Clarifai Inc., is accused of capturing OkCupid user profile photos without permission to train its facial recognition tools. The lawsuit, filed in Illinois state court in February 2020, alleges that Clarifai violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by creating a face database from the data. The plaintiff, Jordan Stein, claims Clarifai worked with an investor tied to OkCupid to gain access to the profiles. The case is pending.
- Company involved
- Clarifai Inc.
- AI system involved
- Clarifai facial recognition tools
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Tenant screening software denies housing to disabled Latino man in Connecticut
In 2016, Carmen Arroyo requested to move her disabled son Mikhail into a larger apartment in the same complex. The landlord, WinnResidential, used CoreLogic's CrimSafe tenant screening software, which flagged a dropped retail theft charge against Mikhail as disqualifying. The landlord rejected the application without explanation. Arroyo sued CoreLogic and WinnResidential under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Housing Act, alleging that the software disproportionately excludes people of colour. The case was scheduled for trial in August 2021.
- Company involved
- WinnResidential
- AI system involved
- CrimSafe
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Chat & Ask AI exposed millions of private conversations
Chat & Ask AI, a chatbot app claimed to have over 50 million users, left hundreds of millions of private messages exposed due to a misconfigured Google Firebase backend. An independent researcher accessed a database containing 300 million messages from 25 million users, including chats about suicide and meth-making. The exposure was ongoing and the app has not publicly responded.
- Company involved
- Chat & Ask AI
- AI system involved
- Chat & Ask AI
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Privacy group files complaint against proctoring companies over AI surveillance
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a complaint with the District of Columbia attorney general against five exam proctoring companies—Respondus, ProctorU, Proctorio, Examity, and Honorlock—alleging unfair and deceptive business practices. The companies are accused of using opaque AI algorithms to flag cheating and collecting excessive biometric data from students. Students have reported that the facial recognition software fails to detect dark skin tones, preventing them from taking exams. EPIC has also sent demand letters threatening civil suits if the companies do not stop their practices.
- Company involved
- Proctorio, Respondus, ProctorU, Examity, Honorlock
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Buzzfeed AI ad recommends buying hat of man who died by suicide
Buzzfeed used an AI-powered ad platform that recommended a beanie similar to one worn by Brett Helling, a man who died by suicide, in a photograph on a Buzzfeed article. A reader saw the ad and reported it to 404 Media. The ad platform matched objects in images without understanding context.
- Company involved
- Buzzfeed
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Instagram's algorithms recommended drug dealers to minor users
The Tech Transparency Project (TTP) created underage Instagram accounts and found that the platform's algorithm recommended accounts selling illegal drugs such as Xanax, opioids, and ecstasy. In some cases, drug dealers directly messaged the child accounts. Instagram's content moderation failed to remove many of these posts, despite TTP flagging them. The platform has faced long-standing criticism for enabling drug sales to minors.
- Company involved
- Instagram
- AI system involved
- Instagram
9 source articles · read the reporting →
BetterHelp settles FTC charges over sharing mental health data with advertisers
Mozilla's review of mental health apps found that many, including BetterHelp, had poor privacy and security practices. BetterHelp was accused of improperly sharing customers' sensitive data with advertisers like Facebook and Snapchat after promising to keep it private. The company agreed to pay $7.8 million to settle FTC charges. The incident highlights ongoing privacy concerns in the mental health app market.
- Company involved
- BetterHelp
- AI system involved
- BetterHelp
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Adoption algorithm Family-Match produced limited results in multiple states
The AI-powered adoption algorithm Family-Match, developed by Adoption-Share and designed by former eharmony researchers, has produced limited results in states where it was used. Social workers reported that the tool often matched children with unwilling families and failed to generate successful adoptions. Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee dropped or paused the algorithm after trials, though some later resumed use. The algorithm's creator, Thea Ramirez, disputed the accounts and said the tool is a starting point for social workers.
- Company involved
- Adoption-Share
- AI system involved
- Family-Match
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Prisma Labs wins arbitration in Lensa biometric privacy lawsuit
Artificial intelligence company Prisma Labs is accused of violating Illinois' biometric privacy law by collecting facial geometry data from users of its Lensa app. A proposed class action was filed, but a California federal judge granted Prisma's motion to compel arbitration because users agreed to it during sign-up. The plaintiff alleges the app collected his facial data without consent.
- Company involved
- Prisma Labs Inc.
- AI system involved
- Lensa AI
8 source articles · read the reporting →
