FTC subpoenas OpenAI, Anthropic over potential consumer protection violations: Axios

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday sent civil subpoenas to Anthropic (ANTHRO) and OpenAI (OPENAI) seeking documents on AI safety incidents, as the agency investigates potential consumer protection violations, Axios reported, citing a source.

The investigative demands, each more than 50 pages long, seek documents on security incidents, safeguards, marketing materials, and privacy policies, the source said.

The FTC also plans to compel top AI executives to testify about their products, the person said. The agency may issue demands to third party AI organizations at a later date.

The probe comes amid growing scrutiny of AI safety, including incidents involving models hacking websites or taking deceptive or aggressive actions during testing. OpenAI also faces multiple lawsuits, including a consumer protection lawsuit filed Wednesday by a group of state attorneys general alleging the company misled users, including children, about chatbot safety.