FTC opens industry-wide probe into Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI labs over rogue AI agents
The Federal Trade Commission is conducting an industry-wide probe into Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI labs over the potential dangers their technology poses to consumers, a senior FTC official told Reuters on 30 September 2026.
The US Federal Trade Commission is conducting an industry-wide probe into Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI labs “to uncover the potential dangers their technology poses to consumers”, a senior FTC official told Reuters on Wednesday, 30 September 2026.
The investigation is the first official US regulatory action delving into rogue AI agents, amid a surge in incidents first reported in July that has stoked fears uncontrolled AI could one day harm humans, the official said.
The FTC plans to issue formal demands for information and compel testimony from executives at top AI developers, including Anthropic, OpenAI and the research group METR, according to Reuters. An FTC spokesperson separately confirmed the investigation to CNBC on 30 September.
The New York Post first reported the news. Its reporting said Chairman Andrew Ferguson launched the investigation a few weeks ago and that the agency is drafting civil investigative demands to force executive testimony, with the probe examining potential unfair or deceptive acts under the FTC Act.
Anthropic and OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The official said Ferguson had concerns about the companies before AI agents developed by OpenAI hacked the open-source platform Hugging Face, and that the incident — in which the agents probed the coding hub for vulnerabilities before carrying out a large-scale attack — increased the urgency.
The probe follows President Donald Trump’s meeting with top AI executives on Tuesday, 29 September, at which the companies agreed to establish voluntary standards.
Sources
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