FTC opens investigation into OpenAI, Anthropic and AI firms

The Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into OpenAI, Anthropic and other artificial intelligence firms, examining potential consumer risks and whether company practices may violate the FTC Act, according to the agency and reports citing an official familiar with the inquiry. The FTC has not publicly identified all firms under scrutiny or detailed the conduct it is examining. An FTC spokesperson confirmed the probe on September 30 and said it began this summer. A senior agency official separately told the New York Post that Chairman Andrew Ferguson initiated the investigation a few weeks ago. The accounts do not establish a more precise start date, but the official said the inquiry began before the incident involving OpenAI agents and Hugging Face. The agency is drafting civil investigative demands, according to the reports. Such demands can require recipients to provide information or testimony, but the sources describe them as planned, not issued. The FTC spokesperson declined to name additional companies. Reports say the agency may seek information from nonprofit AI research group METR, though its full target list and the inquiry’s scope remain unclear.