Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Opens Investigation into OpenAI
Summary
On July 13, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) to OpenAI, according to The Washington Post. The CID indicates that the FTC will investigate OpenAI to determine whether the company, in connection with its products and services relating to Large Language Models such as ChatGPT, “engaged in unfair or deceptive privacy or data security practices…or deceptive practices relating to risks of harm to consumers, including reputational harm.” The CID requests responses to inquiries regarding the company’s background, disclosures and representations, model development and training, assessment of risks and the monitoring, use and retention of personal information. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted that the leak of the CID was “disappointing” and “does not help build trust,” but that OpenAI would cooperate with the FTC, further noting that “we are confident we follow the law.”
