OpenAI�s recent drama hasn�t only caught UK regulators� attention. Bloomberg reported Friday that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is looking into Microsoft�s investment in the Sam Altman-led company and whether it violates US antitrust laws. FTC Chair Lina Khan...
OpenAI�s recent drama hasn�t only caught UK regulators� attention. Bloomberg reported Friday that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is looking into Microsoft�s investment in the Sam Altman-led company and whether it violates US antitrust laws. FTC Chair Lina Khan wrote in a New York Times op-ed earlier this year that �the expanding adoption of AI risks further locking in the market dominance of large incumbent technology firms.�
Bloomberg�s report stresses that the FTC inquiry is preliminary, and the agency hasn�t opened a formal investigation. But Khan and company are reportedly �analyzing the situation and assessing what its options are.� One complicating factor for regulation is that OpenAI is a non-profit, and transactions involving non-corporate entities aren�t required by law to be reported.
In addition, Microsoft�s $13 billion investment doesn�t technically give it control over OpenAI in the eyes of the law, another factor in determining what action a governmental agency might be able to take. However, the recent ousting and re-hiring of Altman � and the integral role Microsoft played in reverting those chess pieces to its preferred positions � suggests the lack of control over the nonprofit is more a technicality than the relationship�s underlying essence.
The UK�s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) wrote earlier today that it�s considering investigating the relationship between AI�s two dominant players. It said it�s weighing �recent developments,� referring obliquely to the Altman-Microsoft drama. �The CMA will review whether the partnership has resulted in an acquisition of control � that is, where it results in one party having material influence, de facto control or more than 50% of the voting rights over another entity,� the CMA wrote in its news release.
Khan, also challenging Microsoft�s $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition, has previously sounded the alarm about the need for AI regulations.
�As these technologies evolve, we are committed to doing our part to uphold America�s longstanding tradition of maintaining the open, fair and competitive markets that have underpinned both breakthrough innovations and our nation�s economic success � without tolerating business models or practices involving the mass exploitation of their users,� the youngest-ever FTC chair wrote in May. �Although these tools are novel, they are not exempt from existing rules, and the F.T.C. will vigorously enforce the laws we are charged with administering, even in this new market.�
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ftc-is-reportedly-looking-into-microsofts-13-billion-openai-investment-185201614.html?src=rss
