DOJ’s Updated Corporate Compliance Guidance Gives Companies More Reasons to Focus on AI and Technology

On Sept. 23, the U.S. Department of Justice released an updated version of its guidance to prosecutors on the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs. Tracking themes apparent in other recent guidance issued by DOJ, companies now have more reason to focus on AI and the effective use of emerging technologies and data analytics, even when engaging in M&A deals, to enhance corporate compliance programs.

Responsible Management of Artificial Intelligence

Perhaps most significantly, under the updated ECCP, DOJ now asks companies to demonstrate how they are utilizing newly available technology such as AI and whether the companies have adequately prepared for the risks associated with using such technologies. Building off of Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s March 2024 speech where she articulated a directive for the criminal division to incorporate the risk of disruptive technology into the ECCP, the new guidance directs prosecutors to consider whether companies have adequately examined the risks of technology such as algorithmic learning and artificial intelligence in the course of their business operations.