Jami Vibbert and Peter Schildkraut Talk Recent FTC AI Enforcement Actions in Bloomberg Law
Jami Vibbert, chair of the firm’s Privacy, Cybersecurity & Data Strategy group, and Peter Schildkraut, co-leader of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications industry group, were recently quoted in the Bloomberg Law article, “FTC Enforcement Sweep Stretches Boundaries on AI Oversight.” The article addresses the recent actions taken by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against companies accused of misleading customers about the value of their AI tools or providing the “means and instrumentalities” for others’ deceptions. These actions are part of the FTC’s new Operation AI Comply crackdown.
“This really goes beyond where the FTC has gone before,” Schildkraut said, referring to the FTC’s allegations of means and instrumentalities liability against the AI firm Rytr. “It’s questionable, had Rytr not decided to settle, that the FTC really would have been able to prove its case based on the facts alleged,” he continued. The reporter noted that the FTC’s Rytr action might encourage other companies to adopt measures to regulate user behavior, like “Know Your Customer” policies used by financial firms. Schildkraut said that these efforts can be costly, especially for emerging AI startups. That “might be enough to dissuade other companies from being willing to risk it,” he said.
Vibbert commented that the FTC will likely continue to focus on the “tie between AI and privacy,” among other actions. “What I see as common themes, I would say, between the actions that were announced in this press release and the privacy cases, is a real focus on providing transparency to consumers,” she said.
