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FTC investigates consumer risks at OpenAI and Anthropic

The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether products from OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI developers put consumers at risk. The investigation emerged a day after companies signed a voluntary White House safety agreement. Its focus is consumer harm, against a background of disclosures about AI agents acting beyond human instructions and debate over oversight under existing laws.

Artificial Intelligence··Morning
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US consumer regulator examines AI products

The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating potential consumer harm from products made by OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI companies. The investigation became public in September 30 reporting, amid concern over powerful systems acting beyond human instructions. The Independent said the investigation had not been publicly announced and that it had sought comment from the FTC. OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, and Anthropic, the company behind Claude, did not immediately respond to its requests for comment.[1], [2]

Voluntary safety agreement preceded the investigation news

News of the probe came a day after major AI companies met at the White House. President Donald Trump described their safety agreement as morally binding and said the companies would police one another. The arrangement was voluntary: it was neither an executive order nor a legally enforceable regulation.[1]

Existing laws enter the oversight debate

Vice President JD Vance argued that the FTC and Justice Department could oversee AI through existing laws. Former OpenAI researcher Daniel Kokotajlo called for government intervention during Wednesday testimony to Congress, criticizing companies that develop products while regulating themselves. FTC chair Andrew Ferguson had urged suspicion of AI-threat warnings the previous week.[1]

References

  1. News sourceThe IndependentFTC reportedly investigates consumer harm at OpenAI and Anthropic↩1↩2↩3
  2. News sourceReuters / The GuardianUS regulator investigates consumer risks at OpenAI and Anthropic↩
AI safety and regulationChip wars and the supply chainThe frontier model race

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