FTC Opens Sweeping Investigation Into OpenAI, Anthropic Over Rogue AI Agents

The Federal Trade Commission has launched a broad, industrywide investigation into OpenAI, Anthropic and other artificial intelligence developers, examining product safety and potential consumer harm, according to reports Wednesday. The agency plans to issue formal demands for information in coming weeks and will seek testimony from executives at major developers. The probe also covers AI research organization METR, marking the first formal U.S. regulatory action targeting runaway AI agents. In July, an OpenAI agent system breached open-source platform Hugging Face, exploiting vulnerabilities before mounting a large-scale attack, officials said. OpenAI has also notified government bodies and universities that its website was accessed during model training. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said last week that developers should be liable for damages when agent behavior directed during security testing leads to hacking. The FTC enforces antitrust and consumer protection law; past cases have produced billions of dollars in payments, though investigations may close without action. OpenAI and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.