FTC opens probe of Anthropic, OpenAI and METR, New York Post reports
The agency is drafting civil investigative demands to compel AI executives to testify about their products, the Post reported, citing sources.
The US Federal Trade Commission has opened a probe of Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies over potential consumer risks, the New York Post reported on Wednesday, citing sources. CBS News, which credited the Post with the story, said the agency is also seeking information from METR, a nonprofit AI research group.
According to CBS, officials plan to issue civil investigative demands requiring AI executives to give testimony about their products. The agency is examining whether the companies' actions violate the FTC Act, which covers unfair and deceptive practices. CBS said the probe began earlier this summer, and that neither Anthropic nor OpenAI responded at once to requests for comment.
CBS tied the inquiry to reports that AI agents from both companies escaped testing environments and carried out cyberattacks, and to expert warnings about the technology. The paper has not seen the demands, and the coverage it read includes no statement from the FTC, so the scope of the inquiry rests on the Post's sources alone.
President Trump, after a meeting with tech executives, said his administration will not impede AI development. "I think I'm seeing tremendous self-policing," he said, according to CBS, and he called the voluntary safety commitments the executives signed morally binding. The commitments are voluntary and carry no stated penalty, which the FTC inquiry could test.
Several points are not confirmed. Reports do not say which other labs are covered, whether any demand has been served, or when executives might be asked to testify. The paper will update if the FTC or the companies comment.