Julia Angwin filed a class action lawsuit claiming Grammarly copied her identity and others to sell AI writing advice without consent. The feature is now pulled.
In short: Julia Angwin filed a class action lawsuit saying Grammarly sold AI writing advice that used her and other well known writers’ identities without permission.
Julia Angwin, editor-in-chief of The Markup, filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in New York on March 11 or 12, 2026. The case targets Grammarly’s parent company, Superhuman Platform, Inc. The suit says Grammarly violated the privacy and “publicity rights” of Angwin and many others, meaning their legal right to control commercial use of their name and likeness.
The complaint focuses on Grammarly’s “Expert Review” feature, which launched in August 2025 for about $12 per month. According to the lawsuit, the feature used AI to produce editing and feedback that appeared to come from specific experts, including Angwin, Stephen King, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Steven Pinker. The suit says these people did not agree to have their names and identities used this way, and that Grammarly profited from it.
Angwin said she learned about her “virtual twin” after reading Casey Newton’s Platformer newsletter. She also criticized the quality of the advice, saying it pushed overly complex sentences. Her lawyer, Peter Romer-Friedman, argued the case is covered by long-standing state laws, and that there is no special exception just because AI is involved.
Grammarly CEO Shishir Mehrotra apologized on LinkedIn on March 12, 2026, saying the company “missed the mark” and would make changes. Reports say Grammarly has since pulled the feature. The company’s user guide said the expert references were for “informational” purposes only, and did not imply a relationship.
This lawsuit is a test of a simple idea. If a company can sell a “look-alike” version of a person’s expertise (like putting a famous author’s name on a product), who gets to say yes, and who gets paid. The court has not ruled yet, but the outcome could shape how AI tools use real people’s names.
Source: TechCrunch AI
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