FTC investigates OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI labs

The US Federal Trade Commission has confirmed an investigation involving several leading artificial-intelligence developers. Reports published by the Associated Press and CBS on September 30 identify OpenAI and Anthropic among the companies concerned. The inquiry has reportedly been under way for months, and the agency may seek information from companies as well as METR, an organization that evaluates AI-system safety.

The immediate legal impact on Hungarian companies is limited because this is a US investigation. It nevertheless matters to businesses using cloud-based AI agents, customer-service models or automated decision support: vendor due diligence, audit logs, human oversight and contractual allocation of responsibility could become more demanding procurement requirements.

According to the reports, the agency is examining how advanced models and agents may affect consumers, especially when systems act autonomously, handle personal data or produce persuasive content. The FTC has not published a public complaint or final finding establishing a violation. The existence of an investigation must therefore be distinguished from any later enforcement decision.

The next verification point is whether the FTC publishes a formal document, civil investigative demand or other details about the scope of its requests. Until then, the timing, exact perimeter and possible outcome remain uncertain. European companies should read the development alongside the EU AI Act, the GDPR and their own supplier contracts; the US inquiry alone does not create a new legal duty in Hungary.

Related background: Global Review previously covered debt risks behind AI financing, limits of platform-transparency reports and financing for AI-glasses manufacturing. These are not evidence about the FTC inquiry; they provide context for the European business environment.

Sources: Associated Press, CBS News and METR. No separate official FTC press release was identified in the morning check.