Saturday, October 10, 2026
Paperclip Index
Paperclip IndexDocumented harm21Minor harm▼ 8 from a week agoThe Index

SignalPolicySG-0022

The FTC opened a broad investigation into the safety of Anthropic's and OpenAI's AI systems

The FTC has opened a broad investigation into the safety of Anthropic's and OpenAI's AI systems, a senior agency official told The Washington Post anonymously. The investigation had not been made public, and its full extent was not clear. The Post noted the FTC's wide authority to investigate unfair and deceptive practices that harm American consumers, and described the probe as part of a Trump administration focus on using existing laws to address AI safety risks.

Why it matters

A federal investigation under existing consumer-protection law could put two frontier labs' safety practices under legal scrutiny without new legislation. Its scope and any outcome are not yet known, and the only account so far comes from an anonymous official.

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1 source. Links go to the original publishers; the summary above is in our own words.

  1. newsFTC launches broad investigation into Anthropic, OpenAIThe Washington Post · Sept. 30, 2026washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/09/30/ftc-launches-broad-investigation-into…

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Citation

Paperclip Index. “The FTC opened a broad investigation into the safety of Anthropic's and OpenAI's AI systems.” Signal SG-0022. Reported Sept. 30, 2026; updated Oct. 7, 2026. https://paperclipindex.com/signal/SG-0022