JDoe is a public benefit corporation [1] which allows survivors and witnesses to anonymously report sexual misconduct through its app. [2] [3] [4] [5]
JDoe is free for users and is available as a mobile app for iOS and Android. [6] Users can report assaults anonymously identifying their offenders by methods such as name, email, or Facebook URL. [6] [4] The app uses homomorphic encryption which allows the company to use identifying information from reports without knowing what the information is itself. [7] Users can choose to keep their reports in "escrow" until another user makes a report against the same perpetrator. [8] When multiple reports are made against the same offender, users are notified of the existence of matches and are encouraged to pursue civil litigation together against the offender. [2]
Lawyers pay to get new clients for civil suits resulting from multiple assault reports against the same perpetrator. [6] Such cases are thought to be more effective when victims take class action as a group. [9] Lawyers with app access can reach out to users who have the choice to respond. [2] Matches will be notified if another victim of the same perpetrator contacts a law firm. [4] Lawyers take cases on contingency and JDoe profits from attorney legal marketing fees and successful case outcomes. [6] As of 2019, the company claimed to be working with 30 law firms and to have helped identify 65 offenders. [7]
JDoe founder Ryan Soscia, a survivor himself, [2] began working on the app in 2014 after hearing several friends recount being assaulted by the same person a few years prior. [2] [4] [8] Soscia sought to use technology to make the reporting process easier. [8] [10] Soscia took a leave of absence from University of California, San Diego to work on the app with a venture capital firm, [7] eventually being selected as a fellow in the Halcyon Incubator [2] and the LexisNexis Legal Tech Accelerator. [11]
Since the app creates matches based on user reports, concerns have been raised about potential harm toward those affected by false allegations. [6] Soscia has said that the system itself weeds out false reports [4] since only lawyers have access to the reports and are unlikely to take cases that will not hold up in court. [2]
Some critics have claimed that JDoe would be required to turn over user information if ordered to do so by a court. [12] However, Soscia claims that because of the encryption setup, JDoe would be unable to access user data even if compelled by a warrant. [13]
JDoe is a public benefit corporation [1] which allows survivors and witnesses to anonymously report sexual misconduct through its app. [2] [3] [4] [5]
JDoe is free for users and is available as a mobile app for iOS and Android. [6] Users can report assaults anonymously identifying their offenders by methods such as name, email, or Facebook URL. [6] [4] The app uses homomorphic encryption which allows the company to use identifying information from reports without knowing what the information is itself. [7] Users can choose to keep their reports in "escrow" until another user makes a report against the same perpetrator. [8] When multiple reports are made against the same offender, users are notified of the existence of matches and are encouraged to pursue civil litigation together against the offender. [2]
Lawyers pay to get new clients for civil suits resulting from multiple assault reports against the same perpetrator. [6] Such cases are thought to be more effective when victims take class action as a group. [9] Lawyers with app access can reach out to users who have the choice to respond. [2] Matches will be notified if another victim of the same perpetrator contacts a law firm. [4] Lawyers take cases on contingency and JDoe profits from attorney legal marketing fees and successful case outcomes. [6] As of 2019, the company claimed to be working with 30 law firms and to have helped identify 65 offenders. [7]
JDoe founder Ryan Soscia, a survivor himself, [2] began working on the app in 2014 after hearing several friends recount being assaulted by the same person a few years prior. [2] [4] [8] Soscia sought to use technology to make the reporting process easier. [8] [10] Soscia took a leave of absence from University of California, San Diego to work on the app with a venture capital firm, [7] eventually being selected as a fellow in the Halcyon Incubator [2] and the LexisNexis Legal Tech Accelerator. [11]
Since the app creates matches based on user reports, concerns have been raised about potential harm toward those affected by false allegations. [6] Soscia has said that the system itself weeds out false reports [4] since only lawyers have access to the reports and are unlikely to take cases that will not hold up in court. [2]
Some critics have claimed that JDoe would be required to turn over user information if ordered to do so by a court. [12] However, Soscia claims that because of the encryption setup, JDoe would be unable to access user data even if compelled by a warrant. [13]