Cybersecurity and Privacy

Peter Jackson, a cybersecurity and privacy attorney in the firm's Intellectual Property and Technology Groups, shared his commentary regarding the security risks of undetectable AI Assistants like Cluely. He explains that while they may not always violate consent laws when acting on behalf of a user, recording without disclosure is problematic and giving third-party providers constant access to employee activity creates unprecedented data security concerns.

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“Sure they're definitely intercepting the content of the user’s communication, but they're doing it solely on behalf of the party to the communication. Is that still a violation? The answer would be no,” said Peter Jackson, a privacy attorney at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger.

Jackson observed, “but what Cluely seems to be saying is, ‘Oh, don't worry about that. We know that turns people off, we'll record it anyway for you.’ That just strikes me as problematic. Although whether it's illegal is a tougher question.”

“Relinquishing this level of data control and access to a third-party service provider is of a magnitude and scale that is frankly just unprecedented. The idea that a third-party processor would be able to basically understand on a moment-to-moment basis what your employees are doing on their computer and all of the data that they're interacting with is a tremendous risk.”