Topline
The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday launched an investigation into Alphabet, Meta, Elon Musk’s xAI, OpenAI and other firms over how they safeguard children and teens from potentially negative impacts of their artificial intelligence chatbots, as safety concerns about the technology swirl.
Regulators warned AI can “effectively mimic” human characteristics, prompting younger users to “trust and form relationships” with chatbots.
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Key Facts
The FTC issued requests to Alphabet, Character Technologies, Instagram, Meta, OpenAI, Snap and xAI for the companies to provide information on how they “measure, test and monitor potentially negative impacts” of AI chatbots on children and teens, the agency announced.
The probe will largely cover steps the companies have taken to safeguard children when their AI chatbots act as companions, including how they limit usage and how users and parents are informed of potential risks associated with the chatbots, the FTC said.
AI chatbots can “effectively mimic human characteristics” like emotions and intentions while communicating “like a friend or confidant,” the FTC warned, suggesting children and teens may “trust and form relationships with chatbots.”
Neither Alphabet, Character Technologies, Meta, OpenAI, Snap nor xAI immediately responded to requests for comment from Forbes.
Tangent
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said last month he would investigate Meta’s AI chatbot, referencing a Reuters report citing an internal document indicating company guidelines deemed it “acceptable” for Meta’s chatbot to hold romantic conversations with children. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Reuters the company was revising its policies and “such conversations with children never should have been allowed.” Hawley gave Meta a Sept. 19 deadline to provide related documents and said the probe would target whether Meta’s AI products “enable exploitation, deception and other criminal harms to children.”
Key Background
A federal probe into popular AI chatbots received approval from the White House recently, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the Journal that President Donald Trump had “pledged to cement America’s dominance in AI,” and noted the Trump administration would deliver on this goal “without compromising the safety and well-being of the American people.” Scrutiny of AI chatbots has swirled in the past few years, but has escalated in recent weeks as some experts have warned the technology could pose a psychological threat to younger users seeking emotional validation. OpenAI said last month it would address how ChatGPT would handle “sensitive situations,” after a lawsuit alleged the AI chatbot contributed to a teenager’s suicide.
Further Reading
FTC Prepares To Question AI Companies Over Impact On Children (Wall Street Journal)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/09/11/ftc-launches-investigation-into-big-tech-over-ai-chatbot-safety-for-children-meta-openai-musks-xai-among-targets/
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