FTC v. DoNotPay — the 'robot lawyer' that was never tested against real lawyers
What happened
DoNotPay marketed itself as 'the world's first robot lawyer', claiming its AI could generate valid legal documents, sue for assault or fight parking tickets as well as a human lawyer. The FTC alleged the company never tested whether its outputs matched a lawyer's work, employed no attorneys to check them, and that the service did not deliver what was advertised. The case was the headline action in the FTC's September 2024 'Operation AI Comply' sweep.
The rule
Section 5 of the FTC Act (deceptive advertising). Claims about what an AI product can do must be substantiated before they are made; 'AI' is not an excuse for unproven performance claims.
Outcome
Proposed consent order announced 25 September 2024; finalised 11 February 2025 after a 5–0 Commission vote. DoNotPay must pay $193,000 in monetary relief, stop claiming its service performs like a real lawyer without evidence, and notify everyone who subscribed between 2021 and 2023 about the settlement.
What this means for you
Every performance claim on your website — 'as accurate as an expert', 'replaces your accountant' — needs testing evidence behind it. Keep the test results, have a qualified human validate professional-advice features, and write marketing copy that matches what the product actually does.
Laws involved
- Utah AI Policy ActIn forceUS-UT
- EO 14365 (federal preemption push)In forceUS-federal
Sources
- FTC Finalizes Order with DoNotPay That Prohibits Deceptive 'AI Lawyer' Claims — FTC press release ↗
- FTC Announces Crackdown on Deceptive AI Claims and Schemes (Operation AI Comply) — FTC ↗
- DoNotPay — FTC case page ↗
Last reviewed Sep 25, 2026.