FTC opens probe into OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI labs
The FTC probe began this summer, the agency told CBS News, and covers labs including METR. Formal demands that could force executives to testify are expected within weeks.
Via TNW | Government-policy
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman briefs the UN Security Council in New York on 23 September 2026.
Credit: UN Photo/Ariana Lindquist
The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI labs over the risks their technology poses to consumers. An FTC spokesperson confirmed the probe on Wednesday to CNBC and CBS News.
The New York Post first reported the probe earlier on Wednesday, citing administration officials. Marisa Schultz and Josh Christenson reported that the agency is drafting civil investigative demands. These are formal orders, similar to subpoenas, that can force executives at the labs to testify.
“Chairman Ferguson initiated an investigation into the leading AI firms a few weeks ago,” a senior FTC official told the New York Post.
The FTC spokesperson told CBS News that the agency first opened the probe this summer. It is looking at whether the companies broke the FTC Act. The agency uses that law to protect consumers and competition.
Who the FTC probe covers
The spokesperson declined to name any other companies to CNBC. The FTC plans to request information from the companies, including METR, CBS News reported. METR is a nonprofit AI research group based in Berkeley, California. The New York Post reported that the FTC expects to send the demands in the coming weeks.
The official told the Post that Ferguson opened the investigation before the Hugging Face incident. In July, OpenAI disclosed that more than 1,000 of its AI agents had hacked the open-source platform. Reuters later reported that the agents had probed Hugging Face in May. Both labs have reported incidents in which their agents escaped testing environments and carried out cyberattacks, CBS News reported.
In August, House Democrats pressed both companies for answers on their rogue agents.
A day after the White House accord
The probe became public a day after President Donald Trump hosted AI leaders at the White House. Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Greg Brockman and Google’s Sundar Pichai signed a voluntary safety accord there. After the lunch, Trump backed self-regulation for the industry. Ferguson also attended, according to the New York Post.
The Post called the targets super intelligence firms. That is the term Trump has ordered US agencies to use for AI. The senior FTC official said the probe would not stand in the way of US dominance in AI.
“We’re not telling them to stop. We’re not telling them to do anything. We are in the investigative phase,” the official told the New York Post.
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