United States of America: Adopted Advisory on AI Compliance with Consumer Protection Laws

On 16 April 2024, the Attorney General of Massachusetts issued an advisory aimed at developers, suppliers, and users of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The Advisory clarifies the obligations of these parties under the State's consumer protection, anti-discrimination, and data security laws. In particular, it lists practices that may be considered unfair or deceptive under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, such as falsely advertising AI system quality, misrepresenting reliability, offering for sale or use an AI system in breach of warranty, misrepresenting audio or video content of a person, or failing to comply with health and safety regulations. Additionally, it states that AI technology should not discriminate against individuals based on legally protected characteristics and must ensure the safeguarding of personal data in compliance with data breach notification requirements.