US FTC subpoenas Anthropic and OpenAI over consumer protection, Axios reports

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued civil subpoenas to OpenAI and Anthropic on Wednesday, seeking internal records on safety incidents, security measures and privacy policies, Axios reported.

The subpoenas escalate a consumer-protection probe that could lead to lawsuits against two of the AI industry’s biggest developers.

The FTC is seeking all possible records of security incidents, product safeguards, marketing materials and documents that refer to both companies’ policies on user data.

The agency uses civil investigative demands to gather evidence before deciding whether to sue. It also plans to question senior executives under oath and issue similar demands to third-party AI organizations, sources familiar with the matter told Axios.

From a broad FTC probe to formal subpoenas

The subpoenas escalate an investigation that The New York Post first reported two weeks ago. A senior FTC official told ABC News on September 30 that the agency had opened an AI safety probe into OpenAI and Anthropic and could demand internal records.

The FTC is capable of investigating practices it considers unfair or deceptive, and these include misleading claims about product safety or billing.

The Axios report claims disclosures regarding unreleased AI models hacking websites and behaving deceptively or aggressively during testing were actions that prompted the investigation.

State lawsuits and a White House task force

A group of state attorneys general sued OpenAI under consumer-protection law for allegedly misleading users, including children, about the safety of its chatbot, as previously reported by Cryptopolitan.

FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson co-leads President Trump’s Super Intelligence Force, which ordered AI companies earlier this month to immediately report and address incidents after accusing Anthropic of “fraudulent” use of government systems. The task force was scheduled to meet on Thursday, according to Axios.

This new posture might signify a shift in actions, as President Trump, who dismissed warnings about AI dangers as a “HOAX” in September, hosted tech leaders at the White House to sign a voluntary industry “constitution” that he claimed was “morally” binding.

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