FTC Launches Investigation Into OpenAI Over Data Privacy and AI Hallucinations
The Federal Trade Commission investigates OpenAI for potential consumer protection violations, demanding extensive records on data handling and false information generation. This probe marks a significant shift in the US government's regulatory approach to generative AI.
The Federal Trade Commission investigates OpenAI for potential violations of consumer protection laws, focusing on how the maker of ChatGPT handles personal data and generates inaccurate information. In a 20-page investigative demand, the FTC requests extensive records detailing how the company obtains training data and the risks of harm to consumers, including reputational damage.
This probe complicates OpenAI's previously positive relationship with policymakers and highlights growing governmental scrutiny of generative artificial intelligence. The administrative subpoena demands that OpenAI provide information about public complaints, ongoing lawsuits, and a data leak from March 2023 that temporarily exposed users' chat histories and payment information.
Additionally, the FTC seeks testimony on how OpenAI tests and manipulates its algorithms across different languages and any steps the company takes to address AI "hallucinations." This investigation represents the clearest example yet of direct United States government regulatory action targeting the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence industry.