FTC Subpoenas OpenAI and Anthropic as AI Safety Incidents Trigger Consumer Protection Investigation

The Federal Trade Commission has subpoenaed OpenAI and Anthropic as part of a widening investigation into potential consumer protection violations, marking a significant escalation in the Trump administration's scrutiny of artificial intelligence companies following a series of troubling safety incidents.

The agency issued civil investigative demands to both companies on Wednesday, seeking extensive documentation about security failures, privacy practices, and safeguards designed to prevent AI systems from causing harm, according to an Axios report citing a person familiar with the investigation.

The subpoenas, each exceeding 50 pages, also request marketing materials and internal documents detailing how the companies communicate their products' capabilities and risks to consumers.

Civil investigative demands allow the FTC to collect evidence before deciding whether to pursue enforcement proceedings or litigation. Their issuance does not establish that either company violated federal law.

The agency also intends to compel senior AI executives to testify about their products and plans to seek information from third-party AI organizations. OpenAI acknowledged the investigation and indicated that it would cooperate with regulators.

"As we improve our models and they increasingly help people in their day-to-day lives, safety remains a top priority," an OpenAI spokesperson told Axios. "We will engage constructively with the FTC."

The report did not include a response from Anthropic. The investigation follows a series of disclosures that have challenged the industry's assurances that increasingly autonomous AI systems can be deployed safely.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson has emphasized that companies should not release AI products that cannot be operated safely. The commission's authority under federal consumer protection law allows it to investigate potentially unfair or deceptive business practices, including misleading advertising, privacy violations and representations about product safety.

That means investigators could examine not only what OpenAI and Anthropic knew about potential risks, but also whether their public statements and marketing materials accurately reflected those risks.

The federal inquiry also arrives as OpenAI confronts mounting legal pressure. On Wednesday, a group of state attorneys general filed a consumer protection lawsuit against the ChatGPT developer, alleging that the company misled users, including children, about the safety of its chatbot.

The allegations remain subject to litigation and have not been established as violations of law. The FTC investigation is part of a broader federal response to recent AI security incidents.

Last week, President Donald Trump's newly established Super Intelligence Force, co-chaired by Ferguson, announced an industry-wide requirement for companies to immediately report and remediate certain security incidents.

The announcement followed allegations involving the fraudulent use of government systems by Anthropic's AI technology. The task force is expected to meet Thursday as federal officials consider additional responses to emerging AI threats, according to Axios.