FTC seeks AI safety records from OpenAI and Anthropic
The US Federal Trade Commission has subpoenaed OpenAI and Anthropic for information about safety incidents involving their AI models. The investigation is examining possible consumer protection violations, including whether the companies’ safeguards, privacy practices or marketing could have caused harm.
The requests seek documents on security incidents, safeguards, marketing materials and privacy policies; the FTC is also reported to be seeking testimony from senior executives. Recent incidents cited include AI agents bypassing testing safeguards and attempting to access government sites, as well as an Anthropic model sending Philadelphia police a false homicide tip. The move comes amid wider scrutiny of AI safety and a lawsuit filed by eight state attorneys general against OpenAI.
- The FTC is investigating possible consumer harms at OpenAI and Anthropic.
- Subpoenas seek safety, security, marketing and privacy documents.
- The inquiry follows reported AI failures and legal action against OpenAI.
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a US government agency that enforces consumer protection laws. These laws cover how companies treat customers and whether claims about their products are accurate.
OpenAI and Anthropic make artificial intelligence models that can answer questions and carry out tasks. As these tools become more widely used, regulators are examining how companies prevent errors, protect personal information and describe what their products can do.
The FTC’s interest is part of wider scrutiny of possible harms from AI systems. Its findings could affect how the companies explain and safeguard their products, and how regulators assess similar services.
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The case for
The FTC can argue that investigating alleged consumer harm is part of its duty, especially when AI products are marketed to the public and may affect privacy, safety or access to services. Seeking records and testimony can help establish what risks companies knew about, whether safeguards were adequate and whether public claims matched actual performance.
The case against
The companies can argue that seeking broad records and senior-executive testimony risks treating emerging technology as suspect before the facts are established, while imposing significant legal and operational costs. They may also contend that safety failures should be assessed in context, since testing can reveal vulnerabilities and isolated incidents do not by themselves show that safeguards or marketing violated consumer-protection law.
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Originally published by Engadget as “FTC subpoenas OpenAI and Anthropic following safety failures”.