Justice Department, FTC mull antitrust investigation of OpenAI: report

OpenAI is in the crosshairs of antitrust investigators at the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission, according to a Politico report Monday.

The agencies are in discussions over which will probe the ChatGPT creator and its involvement with Microsoft Corp.
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The software giant has poured more than $10 billion into OpenAI.

The FTC started talks with the Justice Department months ago to figure out which one can review the matter, according to three people with knowledge of the matter Politico reported.

Chatter of an OpenAI probe comes amid a major government crackdown on Big Tech and enormous influence they wield over the economy and culture. Generative-AI would fall under that category, legal experts assert.

Federal lawmakers are holding meetings with tech executives on the impact of artificial intelligence, something that OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman has admitted is a concern within the company.

The Justice Department is expected to sue Apple Inc.
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on anticompetitive grounds in early March after taking Alphabet Inc.’s
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Google to court on similar grounds last year. The FTC is currently investigating Amazon.com Inc.
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