On July 13, the Washington Post reported that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated an investigation into OpenAI stating concerns that the Silicon Valley company might be violating consumer protection laws by putting users’ reputations and data at risk. According to a 20-page civil investigation demand (CID) schedule sent by the FTC to OpenAI, the commission has asked the company to retain all documents that are relevant to the investigation. It has demanded information starting from June 1, 2020, until the date of complete compliance with the CID schedule. “It is very disappointing to see the FTC's request start [s] with a leak and does not help build trust,” said Sam Altman, responding to this request for information on Twitter. Why it matters: ChatGPT is one of the most popular generative AI projects in the world right now. As of January this year, the chatbot has had 100 million monthly active users which can give us a sense of the sheer volume of user data the chatbot holds. Given that a lot of people use ChatGPT for their job functions as well, if the FTC’s investigation reveals that consumer privacy has been breached, it could be a major cause for concern not just for individual users but also businesses. Article continues below, you might also want to read: Over 1 Lakh ChatGPT Accounts Compromised As Of May 2023, Group IB Claims An OpenAI White Paper From 2022 Reveals That It Isn’t As Gung-Ho About AI Regulation As It…
