Trump’s FTC is investigating OpenAI and Anthropic one day after bringing them to the White House

Federal regulators have quietly started examining whether AI products from Anthropic, OpenAI and other developers are hurting consumers, The Independent reports. The Federal Trade Commission has not announced the probe, which surfaced a day after President Donald Trump met AI executives at the White House and signed a one-page, unenforceable document with the leaders of Anthropic, Google, Meta, Nvidia, OpenAI and SpaceXAI. Trump called the arrangement voluntary but "morally binding," a way for the industry to regulate itself.

The timing matters because the administration contends that laws already on the books are enough to handle fast-moving AI. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson said last week that warnings about AI dangers deserve "deep suspicion." Vice President JD Vance, however, said the FTC and Department of Justice could still act as watchdogs, noting that companies bear responsibility if their products are turned into tools for cyberwarfare. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang promised development would proceed "responsibly and safely."

Pressure for scrutiny has grown. Cyberattacks powered by AI hit water infrastructure across more than a dozen states earlier this year, and Anthropic disclosed this month that it stopped several efforts to use its system for high-profile hacking and for weapons research. Anthropic and OpenAI executives have floated a coordinated slowdown, and OpenAI delayed a new model over safety concerns. Former OpenAI researcher Daniel Kokotajlo told Congress that letting AI help build and oversee itself is a "recipe for disaster." The FTC, Anthropic and OpenAI had not responded to requests for comment.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →