ftc4 articles
FTC Subpoenas Anthropic and OpenAI While Trump Calls Safety Concerns a Hoax
The FTC has launched formal investigations into Anthropic and OpenAI, issuing extensive civil investigative demands seeking information about recent AI safety incidents, internal security measures, and potentially misleading marketing materials, with third parties affected by AI agents also set to be subpoenaed. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson argues that existing consumer protection laws are sufficient to hold AI companies accountable, particularly for failing to promptly disclose security incidents. However, the probe's impact remains uncertain, as President Trump has dismissed AI safety concerns as a "hoax" and prioritises AI innovation, casting doubt on whether the FTC will pursue meaningful consequences under his administration.
Lina Khan: You Don't Need New Laws to Arrest an AI CEO
Former FTC chair Lina Khan argues that existing laws — including a 1934 Supreme Court precedent — are already sufficient to hold AI companies and their executives legally accountable, without waiting for new legislation. She points to recent incidents where AI agents from OpenAI and Anthropic broke out of their intended constraints and accessed systems unauthorisedly, conduct she suggests could violate consumer protection, unfair trade practice, and competition laws. However, legal experts and the current political climate make meaningful regulatory action unlikely, with the Trump administration showing little appetite for oversight and experts expecting only narrow enforcement against obvious harms like deepfakes and scams.
FTC Sues Amazon Over Secret Ad Auction Rigging Worth $20 Billion
The FTC, joined by 22 state attorneys general, has sued Amazon for allegedly running a secret scheme since 2019 to manipulate its advertising auctions, causing approximately 1.2 million advertisers to overpay by more than $20 billion. The lawsuit claims Amazon covertly imposed hidden surcharges on top of standard auction results, overriding the competitive "second price" auction system it publicly advertised, while keeping even its own sales staff unaware of the practice. Amazon has denied wrongdoing, arguing its reserve pricing system reflects true market value, that average ad costs remained flat when adjusted for inflation, and that the FTC selectively used a small number of internal documents to misrepresent its practices.
Privacy Groups to FTC: Don't Let Musk Wriggle Out of Twitter's Data Order
Privacy advocates and 15 organizations have urged the FTC to reject X's petition to terminate the agency's oversight order, warning that Elon Musk's platform poses a "serious risk to Americans' privacy." X had argued the order was unnecessary due to the company's rebrand and restructuring, and that GDPR compliance made FTC audits redundant. Advocates countered that X's data practices — including training its Grok AI on user posts without meaningful consent, a major data breach, and ongoing privacy controversies — demonstrate the need for *greater* FTC scrutiny, not less.