FTC Sends Civil Investigative Demands to Anthropic and OpenAI on AI Safety Incidents; Anthropic Later Confirms Receipt in Its IPO Filing

Per Axios (reported by The Next Web, because Axios blocks our fetcher), the FTC sent civil investigative demands to Anthropic and OpenAI on the Wednesday before the Next Web article, which is the date of this entry (inferred from the weekday; Axios published the scoop the following day). An FTC spokesperson confirmed the subpoenas to CBS News and declined to comment further. The size and contents come from one anonymous source: each demand runs to more than 50 pages and asks for documents on security incidents and safeguarding practices, marketing materials and privacy policies. The source also said the FTC plans to compel top AI executives to testify. No Anthropic statement appeared in the reports.

Primary confirmation for Anthropic only: its registration statement says the FTC issued a civil investigative demand to it in October 2026, seeking information about its consumer protection, data protection and privacy practices and the safety and security of its products. The filing gives no day.

Correction to the capture ticket: whether a separate later demand for Anthropic executives’ testimony exists is not established by any source fetched here.

Anthropic entry: flagged for Mark’s non-Claude verification (standing rule).

Update (2026-10-26, date the demands were sent, per the FTC spokesperson): FTC sends demands for Anthropic executives to testify, its spokesperson tells Axios

On Monday, the FTC “sent demands for Anthropic executives to testify in its consumer harm probe,” an FTC spokesperson told Axios. Axios reports the agency “has only confirmed demands for testimony were sent to Anthropic,” and that “Individuals at other AI companies have also received demands to testify” per the spokesperson, who gave no more detail.