The FTC has a plan for regulating AI—without creating new rules for AI

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic over potential risks their products may pose to consumers, according to The Wall Street Journal. The probe follows the signing of a voluntary AI safety accord by leaders of major AI firms, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta, at a White House event.

The FTC has not yet issued any formal demands but plans to seek company documents, executive testimony, and information from METR, an outside evaluator involved in investigating an OpenAI hacking incident. The investigation reveals that the Trump administration may regulate AI without introducing comprehensive new rules, relying on existing laws against unfair or deceptive practices.

The FTC chairman, Andrew Ferguson, argues that these laws can address many AI-related issues, and he has rejected the idea of treating AI agents as independent actors for liability purposes. Additionally, independent AI auditors are being considered as a solution to ensure the safety of frontier models, but the field faces challenges such as a lack of standard credentials, testing rules, and potential conflicts of interest among evaluators.