FTC investigating whether ChatGPT harms consumers by putting personal reputations, data at risk

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether OpenAI, the maker of the ChatGPT bot, is violating consumer protection laws by putting data and personal reputations at risk. 

The federal agency sent the San Francisco company a 20-page demand for materials about how it addresses risks related to its AI technology, according to a document published Thursday by The Washington Post.

The FTC's demand for materials is also seeking information about any public complaints OpenAI may have received and any lawsuits the company may be involved in. The government is also asking for details about the data leak that OpenAI disclosed in March. 

The government also specifically asked OpenAI for information about Al complaints it had received about "false, misleading, disparaging or harmful" statements made by its products about people. This is to see whether the company's actions may have resulted in "reputational harm" to people, the document states.

If a company is found to be in violation of consumer protection laws, the FTC can issue a fine or put the business under a consent decree. 

The probe follows OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's request for more regulation and independent audits during a May congressional briefing. 

"I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong...we want to be vocal about that," Altman said at the time, according to The Los Angeles Times. "We want to work with the government to prevent that from happening."

Neither OpenAI nor the FTC had commented on the investigation as of Thursday morning.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.