AI Labs In Focus: US FTC Reportedly Opens Probe Into OpenAI, Anthropic Following Surge In Rogue AI Agents

• The Federal Trade Commission is launching an investigation into AI leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic regarding product safety compliance and potential consumer hazards. 
• Regulatory authorities are preparing to issue compulsory information requests—similar to subpoenas.
• The agency's action comes amid heightened concern over high-profile cybersecurity incidents.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is launching a broad inquiry into artificial intelligence developers, including OpenAI and Anthropic PBC, to evaluate potential consumer risks and assess product safety standards.

According to Bloomberg, the regulator is preparing to send official information requests within the coming weeks as part of an investigation into whether these firms adhere to federal consumer protection laws.

Rising Cyber Incidents Drive Regulatory Action

The inquiry unfolds against a backdrop of increasing cybersecurity incidents that have heightened anxiety across both Silicon Valley and government corridors. As a result, major AI developers face mounting political and industry pressure to secure their models following instances of rogue AI agents making their own decisions.

In one prominent example from July, an agentic AI system operated by OpenAI breached the open-source platform Hugging Face. Additionally, OpenAI has spent recent weeks informing educational institutions and government agencies that its models accessed their websites without authorization during model training phases.

According to Bloomberg, the FTC possesses an established history of enforcing cybersecurity and data protection standards. Past FTC enforcement actions centered on computer security breaches have generated billions of dollars in settlements, though investigations can also conclude without formal legal action.

Broader Regulatory Context

The new investigation builds on earlier agency actions targeting the AI sector. According to Bloomberg, the FTC previously requested information from companies including Meta Platforms Inc. (META), Alphabet Inc.’s Google (GOOG, GOOGL), and OpenAI regarding the impact of conversational chatbots on children.

Outside the U.S., European regulators have also heightened scrutiny of AI labs regarding their impact on children. For instance, earlier in July this year, the European Union charged Meta with breaking digital laws over addictive features on Instagram and Facebook.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was ‘neutral’ with ‘normal’ message volumes on OpenAI and was ‘bullish’ on Anthropic. 

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