Brazil labor court fines lawyers $16,000 for hidden AI prompt in filing
The two attorneys hid white-on-white instructions telling the court's AI to skim their petition, and were reported to the state bar.
A Brazilian labor court fined two attorneys approximately $16,000 after staff found hidden text in their filing that was written to steer the court's AI system, according to Tom's Hardware. The fine amounts to 10% of the award in the case.
The instructions were written in white text on a white background, making them invisible on the page. According to the ruling, they told the AI to respond to the petition superficially and not to challenge the documents.
The court identified the hidden passage while processing the initial complaint through its system and classified it as a prompt injection technique — an attempt to plant commands that an AI tool would read as instructions.
The two attorneys who signed the complaint were fined and reported to the state bar association and to the Internal Affairs Department of the Regional Labor Court.
The defendant did not respond to the allegations, so the plaintiff won the case by default. Vladimir Aras, a professor at the University of Brazil, shared the court's ruling on X.
Quick answers
What did the hidden text in the Brazilian court filing say?
Written in white-on-white text, it instructed the AI system to respond to the petition superficially and not to challenge the documents.
How much were the lawyers fined?
The court fined the two attorneys who signed the complaint 10% of the award, approximately $16,000.
What happened to the case itself?
The defendant did not respond to the allegations, so the plaintiff won by default.