DoNotPay is an American company specializing in online legal services and chatbots. The product provides a "robot lawyer" service that claims to make use of artificial intelligence to contest parking tickets and provide various other legal services, with a subscription cost of $36 for three months.[1]
| Original author(s) | Joshua Browder |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 2015 |
| Operating system | iOS, Android |
| Available in | English |
| Type | Legal technology, chatbot |
| Website | donotpay |
DoNotPay's effectiveness and marketing have been subject to praise and criticism.[2][3][4] In September 2024, the company received a $193,000 fine from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for falsely advertising the capabilities of its artificial intelligence (AI) services.[5][6] The FTC also stated that the company never tested the legal accuracy of the chatbot's answers.[7]
Services
editDoNotPay started off as an app for contesting parking tickets. It sells services which generate documents on legal issues ranging from consumer protection to immigration rights; it states that these are generated via automation and AI.[8] The company claims its application is supported by the IBM Watson AI.[9] It is currently available in the United Kingdom and United States (in all 50 states).[10]
DoNotPay states that its services help customers seek refunds on flight tickets and hotel bookings,[11] cancel free trials,[12] sue people,[13][14] apply for asylum or homeless housing,[10] seek claims from Equifax during the aftermath of its security breach,[15] and obtain U.S. visas and green cards.[16] DoNotPay offers a Free Trial Card feature which gives users a virtual credit card number that can be used to sign up for free online trials (such as Netflix and Spotify).[11] As soon as the free trial period ends, the card automatically declines any charges.[17][18] DoNotPay also claims that its services allow users to automatically apply for refunds, cancel subscriptions, fight spam in people's inboxes, combat volatile airline prices, and file damage claims with city offices.[19][20]
In 2021, DoNotPay raised $10 million from investors, including Andreesen Horowitz, Lux Capital, Tribe Capital, and others, reaching a valuation of $210 million.[21]
Reception
editIn 2016, Joshua Browder, the company's founder, told The Guardian that the chatbot had contested more than 250,000 parking tickets in London and New York and won 160,000 of them, although the newspaper did not appear to verify the claim.[22]
Browder's technology has received mixed reviews. For example, a blog post from The Guardian noted that it "just drafted an impressive notice under the Data Protection Act 1998 not to use my personal information for direct marketing."[23] Similarly, a writer with The American Lawyer noted that, "one of DoNotPay's chatbots helped me draft a strong, well-cited and appropriately toned letter requesting extended maternity leave."[24]
However, Legal Cheek tested the service in 2016 with "fairly basic legal questions" and noted that it failed to answer most of them.[25] Above the Law noted that the service may "be too good to be true" due to errors in the legal advice provided, noting that when dealing with "things as important as securing immigration status, which is one of the services DoNotPay promotes, mistakes can ruin lives." Above the Law ultimately recommended the service for "clear-cut issues like parking tickets or non-critical matters," while cautioning against its use for legal issues with higher stakes.[2]
In January 2023, Browder claimed that the organization would attempt to use DoNotPay live in court, but was forced to halt after being warned about the unlicensed practice of law. NPR wrote that "some observers" have had "mixed to shoddy results attempting to use its basic features", and noted that Browder, the company's founder, is known for attention-seeking stunts.[3]
Legal action
edit2023 class-action lawsuits
editIn March 2023, the company faced two class-action lawsuits, one alleging that it "misled customers and misrepresented its product"[26] and another that the company is practicing law without a license.[27] The parties in the first, misled customer lawsuit, "reached a settlement in principle" without exposing the details of the settlement.[28]
The second, practicing law without a license lawsuit, was ultimately dismissed with Chief District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel agreeing with DoNotPay, holding that the plaintiff law firm, MillerKing, had failed to establish standing because it had failed to allege that it has suffered any concrete injury.[29]
2024 Federal Trade Commission fine
editIn September 2024, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an enforcement action against DoNotPay, alleging that the company "relied on artificial intelligence as a way to supercharge deceptive or unfair conduct that harms consumers[...]."[30][31] For example, the company's advertising featured a quote supposedly from the Los Angeles Times which praised its services, but was actually from a high schooler's op-ed on the newspaper's "High School Insider" platform.[7] The FTC also stated that the company never tested the quality of its legal services or hired attorneys to assess the accuracy of the chatbot's answers.[7]
In the proposed settlement, DoNotPay did not admit liability, but did agree to several penalties, including a fine of $193,000 and limitations on its future marketing claims.[32]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Kumparak, Greg (2021-09-09). "DoNotPay's 'robot lawyer' can now help report potholes or fallen trees to the city, file damage claims". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
- ^ a b Wilkins, Steph (12 October 2018). "DoNotPay Is the Latest Legal Tech Darling, But Some Are Saying Do Not Click". Above The Law's Legal Tech Non-Event. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ a b Allyn, Bobby (25 January 2023). "A robot was scheduled to argue in court, then came the jail threats". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2020/01/donotpay-honored-with-aba-brown-award-for-access-to-justice-effo/
- ^ Vasani, Sheena (2024-09-25). "'Robot lawyer' company faces $193,000 fine as part of FTC's AI crackdown". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- ^ Mangan, Dan (2024-09-25). "FTC cracks down on DoNotPay, others for 'deceptive AI claims and schemes'". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- ^ a b c Belanger, Ashley (2024-09-25). "DoNotPay has to pay $193K for falsely touting untested AI lawyer, FTC says". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- ^ Kelley, Jaclyn (October 18, 2018). "Robot Lawyer: App allows you to sue anyone with press of a button". Fox 5. Archived from the original on 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ Kreiger, Lisa M. (March 28, 2019). "Stanford student's quest to clear parking tickets leads to "robot lawyers"". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ a b Johnson, Khari (July 12, 2017). "DoNotPay bot expands its free legal services across the U.S. and U.K." VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ a b Sharma, Ruchira (16 September 2019). "New app promises to automatically cancel subscriptions at end of a free trial period so you won't get charged". iNews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ Dreyfuss, Emily (July 7, 2019). "This Clever New Service Auto-Cancels Your Free Trials". Wired. Archived from the original on 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ Haskins, Caroline (Oct 10, 2018). "New App Lets You 'Sue Anyone By Pressing a Button'". Vice. Archived from the original on 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ Quinn, Lindsey (October 17, 2018). "Josh Browder's DoNotPay lets users 'swipe right' on court settlements and sue for $25k". The Hustle. Archived from the original on 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ "Chatbot offers legal help to Equifax data breach victims". BBC News. 2017-09-12. Archived from the original on 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ^ Ambrogi, Robert (October 10, 2018). "New Bots From DoNotPay Includes One That Lets You Sue In Any Small Claims Court At The Press Of A Button". LawSites. Archived from the original on 2019-12-01. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ Dreyfuss, Emily (July 7, 2019). "App that cancels subscriptions launches in UK". BBC. Archived from the original on 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ "Virtual Credit Cards". DoNotPay. Archived from the original on 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ Kumparak, Greg (2021-09-09). "DoNotPay's 'robot lawyer' can now help report potholes or fallen trees to the city, file damage claims". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ^ Sawers, Paul (2020-10-07). "DoNotPay's 'robo lawyer' now scans your emails to fight spammers, cancel subs, and get refunds". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ^ Simpson, Andrew G. (2021-08-02). "Robot Lawyer DoNotPay, Valued at $210 Million, Plans to Target Small Businesses". Insurance Journal. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ^ Gibbs, Samuel (28 Jun 2016). "Chatbot lawyer overturns 160,000 parking tickets in London and New York". Guardian. Archived from the original on 2020-02-08. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ "Come friendly robots and take our dullest jobs | John Naughton". the Guardian. 2017-07-16. Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ "The DoNotPay Dilemma: Can Chatbots Provide Access to Justice Without a Lawyer?". ALM Law.com. 2017-07-17. Archived from the original on 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
- ^ "Computer science student, 19, says legal profession should be 'very scared' of his new 'robot lawyer' - Legal Cheek". Legal Cheek. 2016-01-15. Archived from the original on 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
- ^ Leffer, Lauren (2023-03-13). "DoNotPay, the 'Robot Lawyer,' Is Being Sued". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- ^ Merken, Sara (2023-03-09). "Lawsuit pits class action firm against 'robot lawyer' DoNotPay". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- ^ Merken, Sara. "Legal AI startup DoNotPay reaches settlement in customer class action". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ Merken, Sara (17 November 2023). "'Robot lawyer' DoNotPay beats lawsuit by Illinois law firm". Reuters.
- ^ "DoNotPay Case Summary". ftc.gov. FTC Legal Library (Cases and Proceedings). Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ Novak, Matt (2024-09-25). "DoNotPay Has to Pay Up Over 'World's First Robot Lawyer'". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ "FTC Announces Crackdown on Deceptive AI Claims and Schemes". ftc.gov. 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-09-25.