FTC subpoenas OpenAI and Anthropic over safety incidents: 50-page-plus demands for incident and safeguard records, with executive testimony and third-party demands to follow

Why it matters

【Key points】

On Wednesday, October 14, the US Federal Trade Commission sent civil investigative demands (compulsory requests for evidence) to Anthropic and OpenAI in a probe of possible consumer-protection violations. An FTC spokesperson confirmed the subpoenas to CBS News and declined further comment. According to a person familiar with the matter cited by Axios, each demand runs more than 50 pages and asks for documents on safety incidents and safeguarding practices, plus marketing materials and privacy-policy documents. Demands to third-party AI organizations will follow, and the FTC plans to compel top executives to testify about their products.

【Verifiable】

Axios scoop: https://www.axios.com/2026/10/15/ftc-openai-anthropic-ai-safety-investigation

CBS News (FTC spokesperson confirms the subpoenas): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ftc-subpoenas-anthropic-openai-consumer-protection/

Timeline: on September 30 the FTC first confirmed it was investigating OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI companies; on October 8 an FTC official told Semafor demands were close. They have now gone out. Details beyond the subpoenas themselves come from Axios's single anonymous source; the FTC confirmed only that it issued them.

【Our read】

1. The probe has moved from statements to evidence-gathering. Investigative demands come before any lawsuit, and they give the FTC the labs' internal incident records and safeguard documents. Public incident disclosures can now be checked against internal files; whether they match is the heart of a consumer-protection case.

2. The same day, eight state attorneys general sued OpenAI. Federal and state tracks are moving together, both using existing consumer-protection law rather than waiting for AI-specific legislation.

3. Three things to watch: which third parties receive demands, whether executive testimony actually happens, and whether either lab responds publicly or changes how it writes safety disclosures.