Just Answer, Pearl, AskALawyer Accused sued by FTC : NPR
NPR • • general
Key Points:
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Pearl, an AI-powered search engine operated by JustAnswer, accusing the company of using deceptive practices to trap consumers into unwanted recurring subscription charges.
- According to the FTC, users are lured through ads to various websites where a chatbot named Pearl collects information before prompting users to pay a small initial fee, followed by much higher monthly fees that continue until canceled.
- The lawsuit claims that JustAnswer charged fees up to $79 monthly without clear disclosure, leading to hundreds of thousands of consumer complaints and that the company's CEO was aware of the deceptive practices but refused to change them.
- JustAnswer denies wrongdoing, stating it clearly publishes pricing and offers multiple easy cancellation methods, but the
