AI bots flooded 2023 UK government consultation on disposable vapes ban
Summary
Researchers reported that bots submitted 90,835 responses—76% of submissions—to a 2023 UK government consultation on tobacco and vapes. The Department of Health and Social Care identified and excluded the automated responses, most of which opposed a proposed ban on disposable vapes; the ban later became law.Key Facts
- The consultation received 118,756 responses in total.
- Researchers Nason Maani and Anna Gilmore published their findings in the journal Tobacco Control.
- All but two of the identified automated responses addressed the proposal to ban disposable vapes.
- The department said many responses were duplicated and sent frequently from a small number of internet addresses.
- The UK government passed the disposable-vape ban into law in 2024.
- The researchers described the incident as a likely first documented case of large-scale automated interference in a formal UK public health consultation.
- The Department of Health and Social Care said its controls identified the fake responses and that it would remain alert to future interference.
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