Bots and False Advertising

In 2015, plaintiffs sued Ashley Madison, accusing the company of secretly using an “army of fembots” to entice unsuspecting men into infidelity. (You can read more about that case and related warnings here.) Now, it seems the bots have returned—not to break up marriages, but to separate people from their money. At least, that’s the claim in a false advertising lawsuit filed by Skillz Platform against its competitor, Papaya Gaming.

Papaya offers mobile gaming apps where players can compete for cash prizes, advertising that players are “matched with other players within the same skill level” and that every game is “totally fair and skill-based.” However, some players have expressed doubts, posting online comments suggesting that the company may be unfairly matching them against bots. While Papaya has responded to many of these comments, their responses neither confirm nor deny the presence of bots in their games.

Skillz’s lawsuit against Papaya alleges, among other things, that Papaya falsely advertises that all players on its platform are human. In its motion to dismiss, Papaya argued that it never explicitly made such a claim. While a New York federal court agreed that Skillz had not identified any statements that were overtly false, it did note that certain references to “individuals” and “players” could imply that consumers are playing against humans, not bots. If Papaya is indeed using bots, these claims could be legally actionable…

CONTINUE READING…