Tag: CE

New York, NY – March 12, 2025 – As part of its marketplace monitoring efforts, BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division recommended that Breethe discontinue or modify the express claim “3 signs you have anxiety” in connection with its Breethe meditation and wellness app.

The National Advertising Division (NAD) determined that references to the signs of anxiety in the context of advertising for Breethe’s app and its ability to “calm” or “quiet your mind” reasonably conveys the implied message that the Breethe app can treat anxiety or is a substitute for anti-anxiety medication and aids.

In support of the anxiety reduction claims, Breethe relied on the results of surveys of Breethe app subscribers conducted via Survey Monkey in October 2021. However, NAD concluded that the survey evidence in the record is anecdotal and does not constitute competent and reliable scientific evidence to support the health-related implied claim.

Therefore, NAD recommended that Breethe discontinue or modify the express claim “3 signs you have anxiety” to avoid conveying the unsupported implied message that the Breethe app can treat anxiety or is a substitute for anti-anxiety medication and aids.

During the proceeding, Breethe voluntarily agreed to permanently discontinue certain quantified performance claims related to the anxiety reduction abilities of the Breethe app. Therefore, NAD did not review these claims on their merits and will treat the claims, for compliance purposes, as though NAD recommended they be discontinued.

In its advertiser statement, Breethe stated that it agrees to comply with NAD’s recommendation.

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive. This press release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. The National Advertising Division reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.

New York, NY – March 11, 2025 – A panel of BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Review Board, the appellate advertising body of BBB National Programs, recommended that James Hardie Building Products, Inc. modify or discontinue advertising related to its fiber cement home siding.

In the underlying National Advertising Division (NAD) case (#7338), competitor Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) challenged James Hardie’s advertising claims about the fire- and water-resistant properties of its fiber cement siding.

Product Combustibility Demonstration Video

The NARB panel found that while a James Hardie demonstration video is a valid demonstration of the various sidings’ combustibility when exposed to a blowtorch flame, it also implied the unsupported messages that James Hardie siding will “protect a consumer’s home from fire damage caused by external fires” or necessarily reduce the risk of fire damage to a home from external fires. Therefore, the panel recommended discontinuing or modifying the video to clarify that non-combustible siding is just one of several elements that in combination may help protect a home from fire damage caused by external fires.

California Wildfire Videos

The NARB panel found two testimonial videos featuring survivors of California wildfires who credited James Hardie siding with saving their homes to be misleading, as James Hardie did not provide a causal link between the survival of the homes and the use of Hardie siding. Therefore, the panel recommended James Hardie discontinue these videos and any related print advertisements.

Water Resistant Product Demonstration and Claims

James Hardie’s water resistance demonstration compared its siding to LP siding by submerging both in water for six months. The NARB panel found this demonstration misleading because it did not represent real-world conditions and failed to properly prepare the LP siding as required for installation. Therefore, the panel recommended discontinuing the water block demonstration and the related claims, including that the LP siding “absorbs water” and is “more susceptible to swelling, buckling and edge checking.”

In its advertiser statement, James Hardie stated that although it “respectfully disagrees with other parts of NARB’s decision,” it “agrees to comply with the panel’s recommendations.”

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive. Per NAD/NARB procedures, this release may not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the National Advertising Review Board (NARB): The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) is the appellate body for BBB National Programs’ advertising self-regulatory programs. NARB’s panel members include 85 distinguished volunteer professionals from the national advertising industry, agencies, and public members, such as academics and former members of the public sector. NARB serves as a layer of independent industry peer review that helps engender trust.

Study examines how Nexis provides organizations with access to reliable information in a timely and efficient manner to inform business decisions

New York, NY – March 10, 2025 – LexisNexis® Legal & Professional, a leading global provider of AI- powered analytics and decision tools, today announced the findings of The Total Economic Impact^™ (TEI) of Nexis® by LexisNexis study conducted by Forrester Consulting. The 2025 commissioned study aggregated the experiences of four organizations in banking/finance, insurance, healthcare and manufacturing using the Nexis research platform. Forrester aggregated the responses and created a single “composite” organization headquartered in the U.S. with 20,000 employees worldwide that generates $3 billion of annual revenue. The study showed this composite organization achieved a 110% return on investment (ROI), along with a net present value (NPV) of $1.20 million over three years.

Prior to using Nexis, interviewees from the profiled organizations said they used multiple sources to conduct research for new business, risk management, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and other business decisions. Interviewees found their efforts to collect, organize, and analyze information were time-consuming, difficult, and expensive – especially for non-US and privately held businesses. After investing in Nexis, their organizations significantly improved their research capabilities, conducting global research, due diligence and analysis more efficiently and cost-effectively by eliminating superfluous legacy tools and platforms, streamlining data access and management, and directly reducing expenses. Nexis provided them with access to reliable information in a timely and efficient manner, which helped inform strategic decision-making and reduced the risk of costly mistakes and missed business opportunities.

“Access to quality information is crucial for organizational decision-making, but many organizations still rely on multiple disparate sources for strategic corporate research. Enterprises across every industry tell us this is time-consuming, expensive and challenging to collect reliable, accurate data,” said Todd Larsen, President of Nexis Solutions. “Nexis provides access to an expansive collection of news, company, legal, and regulatory data necessary to make informed business decisions. Working closely with our customers, we’ve significantly streamlined the corporate research process to help enterprises achieve maximum value. We’re pleased the Forrester TEI study shows us Nexis’ ability to accelerate business decisioning while helping to reduce expenses.”

A few quantifiable and unquantified benefits that the composite organization representing interviewed customers experienced include:

• Enhanced research efficiency worth $986,000 over three years: Nexis significantly enhanced efficiency and cost-effectiveness by automating and consolidating searches, while reducing the time and manpower previously required for these tasks. This efficiency gain, alongside reduced reliance on outsourced firms and data sources, results in substantial time and cost savings for organizations across multiple business areas.
• Improved research quality: Nexis delivered consistent, high-quality information worldwide. A chief legal and compliance officer at a manufacturing organization reported the extensive range of sources and country coverage available through Nexis enabled users to achieve more thorough and reliable research results.
• Reduced business risk enabled by proactive data analysis: Nexis’ advanced data analytics capabilities helped reduce business risk by enabling proactive decision-making. Study interviewees expressed that having real-time access to trustworthy data allowed their organizations to make timely and informed business decisions.

The study also included quotes from participating organizations about the benefits of leveraging the Nexis platform.

“The availability and the breadth of information and the number of different things we were able to do with the platform were the clinchers,” said a CIO in manufacturing.

“The operational efficiency gained by reducing the research and the manual work steps was the biggest benefit we used to make our business case,” said a CIO in banking and finance.

For more information about Nexis, please visit https://www.lexisnexis.com/Nexis To access the full Forrester TEI study and read about all the benefits Nexis can offer, download the full study at https://perspectives.lexisnexis.com/nexis-total-economic-impact-by-forrester-study/index.html.

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LexisNexis® Legal & Professional provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,800 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

New York, NY – March 6, 2025 – In a challenge brought by competitor Earth Breeze Inc., BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division recommended that Clean People LLC discontinue certain “Made in USA” claims and an implied cleaning superiority claim for its Clean People Laundry Detergent Sheets.

Clean People also voluntarily discontinued certain environmental, “Made in USA,” and comparative claims as well as claims Earth Breeze challenged as disparaging. The National Advertising Division (NAD) determined, however, that Clean People had a reasonable basis for its “Made in Canada” claim for its Clean People Laundry Detergent Sheets.

Implied Cleaning Superiority Claim

NAD determined that a social media post, which included an open comparison of performance attributes, may reasonably convey a message of implied cleaning superiority.

As Clean People did not provide evidence of its products’ comparative performance, NAD recommended that it discontinue the implied claim that the product performs better than competitive products, including Earth Breeze and traditional liquid laundry detergents.

Country-of-Origin Claims

As Clean People did not submit any evidence that the products are of U.S. origin, in whole or in part, NAD recommended that it discontinue the express “Made in the USA” claim and the implied claim that the products are entirely made in the U.S. or at a minimum, have a significant amount of U.S. content or U.S. processing.

NAD determined that Clean People had a reasonable basis for its “Made in Canada” claim because both the detergent sheets and their packaging are supplied by Canadian manufacturers who make those components in Canada and the suppliers meet major retailers’ standards for making that claim.

Endorsements & Consumer Review Practices

Earth Breeze took issue with Clean People’s consumer reviews posted on their website and alleged that Clean People made unsupported disparaging claims in social media, blogs, and Facebook pages linking to those blogs.

Based on Clean People’s representations that it had permanently discontinued or modified its endorsement and consumer review practices, as raised in the challenge, NAD did not review those practices on the merits and will treat them, for compliance purposes, as though NAD recommended they be modified or discontinued.

During the proceeding, Clean People voluntarily agreed to permanently discontinue certain express claims relating to Clean People’s ingredients, as well as certain implied comparative safety and cleaning efficacy claims. Therefore, NAD did not review these claims on their merits and will treat the claims, for compliance purposes, as though NAD recommended they be discontinued.

In its advertiser statement, Clean People stated that it would comply with NAD’s recommendations.

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive. This press release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. The National Advertising Division reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.

New York, NY – March 6, 2025 – As part of its marketplace monitoring efforts, BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division recommended that The Magni Group, Inc. discontinue certain claims regarding the ability of its MagniLife Knee Pain Relief Soothing Gel to provide fast pain relief.

MagniLife Gel is touted as quickly relieving pain, swelling, and inflammation from sore muscles, joint discomfort, and injuries. The challenged claims appeared on product packaging, in direct mail advertisements, as well as online and on social media.

The National Advertising Division (NAD) noted that where the substantiation in the record consists solely of evidence regarding the efficacy of ingredients in a product, but not for the product itself, the advertising must not suggest or imply that the product provides the claimed benefits.

NAD determined that since The Magni Group lacked any testing on the product itself, it did not have a reasonable basis for unqualified claims that the product provides the challenged benefits and recommended that it discontinue the following claims:

• “Rapid Pain Relief”
• “Relieves stiffness, tenderness, swelling aching and burning pains associated with knee discomfort.”
• “Say goodbye to knee pain without surgery! Fast-acting gel reduces pain, swelling and inflammation from sore muscles, joint discomfort, and injuries. With added support for relief and recovery from proven, all-natural ingredients including Arnica, Dragon’s Blood, Cat’s Claw and MSM.”

Further, NAD also considered whether The Magni Group’s evidence could support qualified claims regarding the efficacy of the product’s ingredients, however it concluded that such evidence was not reliable support for the claimed benefits of MagniLife Gel’s ingredients.

In its advertiser statement, The Magni Group stated that it agrees to comply with NAD’s decision.

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive. This press release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. The National Advertising Division reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.

McLean, VA – March 4, 2025 – BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division has referred Homintell Inc. (d/b/a Afloia Direct) to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for a lack of response to a compliance inquiry regarding discontinuance of advertising claims for its HEPA Air Purifiers.

The referral stems from a National Advertising Division (NAD) challenge by Vesync Corporation against Afloia for express and implied claims that its HEPA Air Purifiers and filters met HEPA and H13 standards.

Afloia agreed to permanently discontinue the challenged claims. However, Vesync requested NAD open a compliance inquiry due to advertisements featuring the same or substantially similar claims that Afloia had previously agreed to discontinue.

Despite numerous outreach attempts, Afloia failed to respond to NAD’s compliance inquiry and therefore NAD has referred the matter to the appropriate government agency, in this case the FTC, and platforms on which Afloia’s advertising appeared and NAD has a reporting relationship.

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.  

New platform empowers legal teams with AI-driven efficiency, enhanced collaboration, and streamlined case management to accelerate strategic decision-making

NEW YORK – LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional, a leading global provider of AI-powered analytics and decision tools, today announced the launch of CaseMap+ AI, an advanced litigation case management platform designed to streamline litigation processes and enhance strategic decision-making for litigators.

CaseMap+ AI integrates cutting-edge AI capabilities to empower litigators with efficient tools for organizing, analyzing, communicating, and presenting case information. The platform introduces a suite of innovative features that significantly streamline the review of deposition transcripts and documents.

Key features of CaseMap+ AI include:

• Generative AI Transcript and Document Summarization: Streamline the summarization and legal analysis workflow, providing brief and precise summaries to conserve time and effort.
• Third-party Integrations: Facilitate seamless document transfer and metadata management with industry-preferred technologies like iManage and RelativityOne.
• Document Production: Allows Bates stamping of documents.
• Improved Export to Folders and LexisNexis’ Sanction^® Litigation Presentation Software: Enables efficient download and organization of multiple documents, transcripts, and/or media into a single zip folder.

“CaseMap+ AI is set to transform the litigation landscape by providing legal teams with a centralized, AI-powered platform that enhances productivity and collaboration,” said Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of LexisNexis North America, UK, and Ireland. “Our vision is to integrate Protégé, our personalized legal AI assistant, into CaseMap+ AI, enabling users to harness the power of AI to efficiently analyze, strategize, and draft documents.”

CaseMap+ AI is designed to address key challenges faced by litigation teams, such as organizing complex case data, uncovering intricate fact patterns, and presenting compelling case narratives. With responsibly developed AI and state-of-the-art security, CaseMap+ AI provides litigation teams with unique collaboration capabilities and confidence in data accuracy.

For more information on CaseMap+ AI, visit lexisnexis.com/casemap.

About LexisNexis AI Development

LexisNexis customer-driven AI innovation focuses on analytics and decision tools that solve complex problems and enhance value. The company responsibly develops safe AI solutions with human oversight, backed by advanced encryption and privacy technology. Its global technology platform seamlessly integrates extractive, generative, and agentic AI within a scalable, multi-cloud infrastructure to drive rapid innovation and continuously improve answer quality, accuracy, and speed. A proprietary Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) platform grounds large language model (LLM) answers in a comprehensive repository of trusted legal content and metadata, delivering high-quality answers and validated citations. Its multi-model approach selects the best AI model for each use case, and model fine-tuning ensures high performance of domain-specific, personalized LLMs, supported by partners Mistral, Anthropic, AWS, OpenAI, and Microsoft. The company employs over 2,000 technologists, data scientists, and experts to develop, test, and validate solutions in line with RELX Responsible AI Principles.

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional 

LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis^® and Nexis^® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,800 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. 

NFL’s Collaboration with Digital Advertising Accountability Program Highlights Vital Role of Industry Self-Regulation Amid Shifting Regulatory Environment

McLean, VA – February 27, 2025 – The National Football League (NFL) has collaborated with BBB National Programs’ Digital Advertising Accountability Program (DAAP) to enhance its privacy disclosures to follow the Digital Advertising Alliance’s (DAA) Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA).

The NFL, comprising 32 teams and attracting a vast consumer audience, averaging 17.5 million viewers per game in 2024 and over 120 million for this year’s Super Bowl, plays a significant role in the digital advertising landscape.

DAA’s Self-Regulatory Principles for OBA apply to entities engaged in interest-based advertising (IBA) to help ensure they adhere to consumer data privacy best practices. The OBA Principles were developed by leading industry associations to apply consumer-friendly standards to online behavioral advertising across the internet.

“Ensuring that organizations such as the NFL adhere to the DAA Principles is crucial for maintaining consumer trust in the digital advertising ecosystem,” said Mary K. Engle, EVP, Policy, BBB National Programs. “By implementing these best practices, the NFL now not only complies with industry standards but also demonstrates a commitment to protecting consumer privacy.”

According to DAAP, enhanced notice links with clear opt-outs, and, in the case of sensitive data such as precise location data, opt-in consent mechanisms, ensure consumers are fully informed about data collection practices and can make educated decisions about their privacy.

DAAP reviewed NFL-affiliated websites and mobile apps and found instances where disclosures were not made in the manner contemplated by the DAA’s OBA Principles and Mobile Guidance. While DAAP’s review found that the NFL’s privacy policy contained most of the requirements in the DAA Principles, DAAP recommended, and the NFL agreed, to revise disclosures to provide “enhanced notice” in the manner contemplated by the DAA Principles.

Key issues identified by DAAP include:

• Enhanced Notice for Website Data Collection: The investigation found that the 32 NFL team websites lacked the enhanced notice for data collection by third-party companies contemplated under the OBA Principles.
• Mobile Data Collection: Some of the apps collected precise location data without fully disclosing in the manner contemplated by DAA’s Mobile Guidance how such data could be shared with third parties for advertising. The DAA Principles require clear notice and opt-in consent for the sharing of such sensitive data for IBA.

In response to DAAP’s inquiry, the NFL conducted comprehensive reviews of the areas identified for improvement. The NFL collaborated with DAAP on the following:

• Updated Privacy Policies: Updated the NFL global privacy policy and team privacy policies to provide additional information about IBA and possible use of consumers’ precise geolocation data for advertising/IBA.
• Enhanced Notice Links: Added enhanced notice links on websites and apps, directing users to IBA-related information.
• Clear Consent Mechanisms and Disclosures: Implemented clearer and more prominent consent prompts – through the creation of new splash screens that provide strengthened notice and a clickable link to the IBA section of the privacy policy – for precise geolocation data collection on mobile apps.
• Enhanced Notice of Use of Precise Geolocation Data: Certain NFL team apps now display a splash screen stating that precise geolocation data may be shared with third-party advertisers for IBA. Users can learn more via a link to the Privacy Policy.
• Opt-In Consent Requirements for Sensitive Data/Precise Geolocation Consent Prompts: NFL updated certain team apps to provide clearer notice and obtain user consent for collecting precise geolocation data for IBA. This includes a notice on the splash screen and a consent prompt when users click “Continue.”
• Enhanced Notice for Third-Party IBA – Mobile App Store Profile and Account Settings: Certain NFL team apps added enhanced notice links for precise location data at the point of collection and in in-app settings. The NFL’s global and team apps’ privacy policies now include a link to IBA-related information, which can be accessed through the “Privacy Policy” link in the app store. Additionally, certain NFL teams have updated their app settings pages to include an enhanced notice link (usually titled “Ad Choices”), which directs users to the IBA portion of the team’s privacy policy.

“In an evolving legislative and regulatory climate, industry self-regulation is crucial for protecting consumer privacy and digital advertising rights, ensuring transparency and accountability in the marketplace,” said Dr. Divya Sridhar, Vice President, Global Privacy Division and Privacy Initiatives Operations, BBB National Programs. “The changes the NFL has made to its apps and websites set an important precedent for other organizations within the digital ads ecosystem.”

The NFL stated, “At the National Football League (NFL), we are committed to providing a seamless user experience for our fans, as well as safeguarding their information. We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Digital Advertising Accountability Program and appreciate their acknowledgement that we are compliant with the DAA Principles.”

A DAAP decision does not constitute a finding that the law has been violated, nor should the NFL’s modification of its IBA practices, in cooperation with DAAP’s self-regulatory processes, be construed as an admission of a violation of law.

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of DAAP decisions, visit the DAAP Decisions and Guidance webpage. 

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the Digital Advertising Accountability Program: The Digital Advertising Accountability Program (DAAP), a division of BBB National Programs, was developed by the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) to enforce industry self-regulation principles for data privacy in online and mobile advertising, holding companies accountable to the DAA’s Privacy Principles. DAAP provides guidance to companies looking to comply with industry principles and responds to complaints filed by consumers about online privacy.

LexisNexis and OpenAI are collaborating to swiftly deploy legal-specific AI solutions in flagship products like Lexis+ AI with Protégé to power personalized AI workflows and generative AI tasks

NEW YORK – LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional, a leading global provider of AI-powered analytics and decision tools, and OpenAI, today announced their plan to deploy OpenAI’s APIs and fine-tuned models across the LexisNexis ecosystem of products like the Lexis+ AI^® legal workflow solution and LexisNexis Protégé personalized AI assistant that intelligently powers productivity, drives next-level work quality, and enables legal and business professionals to unlock economic value.

With the highest levels of enterprise security, compliance, and privacy, LexisNexis will directly leverage OpenAI’s latest models and jointly develop fined-tuned models for sophisticated legal workflows that depend on generative AI technology for enhanced “chain of thought” reasoning. As part of the company’s multi-model approach that selects the best AI model for each legal task, including custom LLMs, LexisNexis has leveraged OpenAI models in its products since 2022. This new collaboration enables LexisNexis to deploy the latest OpenAI models based on its cutting-edge research to best address the customer use case for personalized and highest-quality legal AI.

“At LexisNexis, we are dedicated to delivering high-quality, highly personalized AI innovation for legal and business professionals to achieve faster, enhanced outcomes,” stated Jeff Reihl, EVP and Chief Technology Officer at LexisNexis Legal & Professional. “As leaders in customer-focused legal AI, we prioritize selecting top-performing models and developing custom models for customers’ complex workflows and quickly integrating those models into our products. Our direct collaboration with OpenAI allows us to accelerate this innovation.”

“We’re thrilled to use our most advanced AI models to power new use cases that accelerate productivity, help gather legal insights faster, and simplify complex workflows for thousands of customers on LexisNexis’ platform,” said Brad Lightcap, Chief Operating Officer at OpenAI.

Additionally, as part of the agreement, LexisNexis global teams will expedite their own productivity benefits, including accelerating innovation to address customers’ core needs, via ChatGPT Enterprise.  

The LexisNexis global technology platform seamlessly integrates each wave of AI innovation, including extractive AI, which finds relevant results within data and provides deep insights; generative AI, which excels at creating new content from data based on user-entered prompts or instruction; and agentic AI, which can intelligently and independently perform tasks on a user’s behalf. Because LexisNexis can swiftly deliver innovative, trusted tools, customers realize improved outcomes and tangible value faster. 

For more information on the latest AI-powered offerings from LexisNexis, visit www.lexisnexis.com/ai.

About LexisNexis AI Development 

LexisNexis customer-driven AI innovation focuses on analytics and decision tools that solve complex problems and enhance value. The company responsibly develops safe AI solutions with human oversight, backed by advanced encryption and privacy technology. Its global technology platform seamlessly integrates extractive, generative, and agentic AI within a scalable, multi-cloud infrastructure to drive rapid innovation and continuously improve answer quality, accuracy, and speed. A proprietary Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) platform grounds large language model (LLM) answers in a comprehensive repository of trusted legal content and metadata, delivering high-quality answers and validated citations. Its multi-model approach selects the best AI model for each use case, and model fine tuning ensures high performance of domain-specific, personalized LLMs, supported by partners AWS, Anthropic, Microsoft, Mistral, and OpenAI. The company employs over 2,000 technologists, data scientists, and experts to develop, test, and validate solutions in line with RELX Responsible AI Principles.

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional 

LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis^® and Nexis^® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,800 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. 

McLean, VA – February 26, 2025 – BBB National Programs’ Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) has concluded an investigation into the Buddy AI website and app, owned and operated by AI Buddy, Inc. The investigation, initiated through CARU’s marketplace monitoring activities, sought to determine if the Buddy AI website and app complied with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and CARU’s Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Children’s Online Privacy Protection.

The Buddy AI app is a generative AI tutor for kids under 12, creating instructional content in response to user prompts using the interactive, voice-based character Buddy the Robot. With 20 million downloads last year, it is the most popular language app for children on Google Play and one of TIME Magazine’s World’s Top EdTech Rising Stars of 2024.

Of concern to CARU was whether Buddy AI clearly and conspicuously discloses to parents/guardians, prior to use of the app by children, what personally identifiable information (PII) the app collects from children and how it uses and discloses this information. CARU was also concerned that Buddy AI collects, uses, and/or discloses PII without obtaining COPPA-required verifiable parental consent.

CARU determined that Buddy AI violated COPPA and CARU’s Privacy Guidelines by its failure to:

• Provide notice of its information collection and use practices that is clearly and understandably written, complete, and contains no unrelated, confusing, or contradictory materials.
• Make reasonable efforts, taking into account available technology, to ensure that parents/guardians receive direct notice of its practices with regard to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information from children, including notice of any material change in the collection, use, or disclosure practices to which the parent has previously consented.
• Post a prominent and clearly labeled link to its online notice of its children’s information collection and use practices on the home or landing page or screen of its website or online service and at each area of the website or online service where personal information is collected from children.
• Obtain verifiable parental consent before collection, use, and/or disclosure of personal information from children.

During CARU’s investigation, Buddy AI addressed CARU’s concerns and made the necessary changes to the app to come into compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines. CARU is pleased that Buddy AI took the necessary steps to come into compliance and help protect children’s online privacy.

In its advertiser’s statement, Buddy AI stated that it “appreciated the diligence with which CARU performed its investigation” and “welcome this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to children’s privacy.”

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the Online Archive. 

About Children’s Advertising Review Unit: The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), a division of BBB National Programs helps companies comply with laws and guidelines that protect children from deceptive or inappropriate advertising and ensure that, in an online environment, children’s data is collected and handled responsibly. When advertising or data collection practices are misleading, inappropriate, or inconsistent with laws and guidelines, CARU seeks change through the voluntary cooperation of companies and where relevant, enforcement action.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.