DOJ Announces New Whistleblower Rewards Program And Enhanced Focus On AI-Related Risks

Continuing to prioritize corporate criminal enforcement, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced two new steps it is taking to identify potential corporate misconduct and evaluate companies' compliance programs. Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco announced these measures on March 7, 2024 at the American Bar Association's White Collar Crime Conference in San Francisco. First, DAG Monaco introduced DOJ's whistleblower "pilot program" to reward individuals who help DOJ uncover significant corporate or financial misconduct, saying the program will fill the gaps of the "patchwork quilt" of existing whistleblower programs. Second, DAG Monaco reported that DOJ is now directing prosecutors to assess companies' abilities to manage risks related to artificial intelligence (AI) as part of its consideration of compliance programs. These steps complement DOJ's efforts to incentivize voluntary self-disclosure and address risks created by the proliferation of AI—a