A federal judge in Massachusetts approved a settlement agreement between the Federal Trade Commission and gun detection company Evolv Technology, which the FTC said engaged in deceptive acts by making “false or unsubstantiated claims » about what its weapon detectors can do.
Specifically, the FTC alleged that Evolv misrepresented the extent to which its scanners could detect weapons and ignore innocuous objects.
Evolv is also accused of making unsubstantiated claims about how its technology, which incorporates artificial intelligence, makes its systems more accurate, more efficient or more cost-effective compared to traditional metal detectors.
The recent NBC 5 “Feeling Safe” investigation found that Evolv’s gun detectors had limitations and, in some cases, failed to detect certain weapons.
We’ve found them used at Wrigley Field, Chicago’s Soldier Field, the old John Hancock Building, and at major Chicago events like this summer’s El Grito Festival and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Over the past two years, students at schools in New York and Ohio have been injured in stabbing incidents after their schools installed Evolv detectors. As a result, a student from New York filed a complaint.
The results of a 2021 field test conducted at a Major League Soccer stadium in Columbus, Ohio, were first reported by security technology company IVPM. The report reveals that while Evolv’s detectors performed relatively well in detecting firearms, they missed two micro-compact handguns in two passing attempts. The overall knife detection rate was only 58 percent.
Evolv has not released this 52-page report created by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security, also known as NCS4.
Instead, NCS4 released — and Evolv publicly touted — the results of a shorter 25-page report showing that the Evolv Express scanner worked relatively well.
In its complaint, the FTC noted that Evolv “failed to disclose to consumers” that the company had worked with NCS4 on the report’s test design and had worked with NCS4 to make changes to the report, including removing negative information about the ability of weapons scanners to detect certain weapons.
Following the FTC settlement, Evolv admitted no wrongdoing and defended its products.
In a recent YouTube video, Evolv co-founder Michael Ellenbogan said: “…While we have not admitted any wrongdoing, we are happy to resolve this issue and are glad that the FTC has not challenged the fundamental effectiveness of the technology and that the resolution also did not include any financial assistance. » Ellenbogan then defended the scanners during the video, saying they still flag guns in schools and scan more than 3 million a day.
NBC 5 Investigates contacted an Evolv spokeswoman again this week to ask additional questions about the order and the FTC’s allegations. Although she didn’t answer our questions directly, she emailed this response:
“The FTC has not questioned the fundamental effectiveness of Evolv’s products. We stand behind our technology and are pleased that our customers believe in the importance of our technology and have validated its performance at scale, balancing consistent detection with a positive security experience.
NBC 5 investigations revealed that at least three Illinois school districts have spent more than $4 million installing Evolv detectors in recent years.
In the Rockford School District, data shared with NBC 5 Investigates shows that while five knives were recovered, there were more than 85,000 false positive alerts on laptops during scans conducted between August 2023 and April 2024 .
The recent agreement with the FTC prohibits Evolv from making certain marketing claims in the future about what its detectors can do, including making statements about:
- The ability to detect weapons
- The ability to ignore harmless personal items
- The ability to detect weapons while ignoring harmless personal items
- The ability to ignore harmless personal items without requiring visitors to remove these items from their pockets or bags.
- Accuracy of weapon detection, including when compared to the use of metal detectors; among others.
The settlement orders also require Evolv to offer schools using its scanners the opportunity to cancel their contracts. It is not yet clear how many districts across the country will be affected.
A closer look at the judge’s order shows that there are limits on which schools are eligible.
Affected K-12 customers include those who purchased or contracted for use of Evolv Express scanners between April 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023. Schools that participated in a 30-day trial prior to to purchase or enter into a contract are also ineligible under this regulation. The same applies to school districts that purchased 15 or more Evolv scanners or those that purchased additional units more than 45 days after the initial deployment of the Evolv Express.
Here in Illinois, the Joilet School District told NBC 5 Investigates they were not eligible because their purchase was off schedule. The Champaign School District said it is satisfied with its system purchase and has no current plans to renegotiate its contract.
A spokesperson for Rockford Schools declined to comment.
In an interview earlier this week with NBC 5 Investigates, we asked the FTC’s Katherine Campbell to respond to Evolv’s claims:
“The FTC disputed marketing claims that Evolv had been highlighting on its website for several years. Many of these claims were about how the product worked and how effective it was. And Evolv often referred to AI when making these claims,” Campbell said.
NBC 5 Investigates also spoke with Don Maye with IVPM, the technology company that was the first to question Evolv’s capabilities and first discovered the 52-page field test report that raised questions about the effectiveness of Evolv Express.
“I think that’s a pretty significant revelation from the FTC and something that Evolv needs to come to terms with – not just changing this. They have a responsibility to these school districts. And the FTC has made that clear as well “Maye said later. adding, “This is a company that has many, many problems and I think the public and the school district should really look at the totality of what Evolv has done – especially as it relates to this FTC investigation.”
Evolv also faces lawsuits from investors who claim they were misled and that Evolv overestimated what its devices can do.
This week, the company announced the appointment of a new CEO weeks after five employees resigned or were fired after the company announced in an SEC filing that it had misstated some income.
The company first announced in late October that an internal committee had begun investigating the company’s sales practices and found that “certain sales…were subject to extra-contractual conditions” and that some “personnel had committed misconduct in connection with these transactions.
In the November update, Evolv said its internal investigation “found that certain accounting staff were aware of indications of these extra-contractual terms” and that the allegations were raised internally in July 2024 with finance staff. and senior accountant, but “those allegations were not communicated to the audit committee or its accounting firm before the filing of the financial statements for the second quarter of 2024.
Evolv said it was cooperating with an SEC investigation and had received a request for documents from a federal prosecutor’s office in New York.
