FTC Chair Ferguson: AI Developers, Not Agents, Should Bear Liability
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson says AI developers should be liable for harm caused by their agents, and outlines a new study into personalized pricing.
US Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson has pushed back against characterizations of artificial intelligence agents as independent actors, arguing that responsibility for any harm they cause should rest with the developers who direct them.
Speaking at an AI industry event in Austin, Ferguson said he would continue to reject what he described as the anthropomorphizing of such tools for as long as he holds the chair. If a person instructs a tool to perform a task and the tool carries it out, the question of what to do about the tool itself does not arise, he said.
His comments come amid growing concern over incidents in which agentic AI systems have gained unintended or unauthorized access to corporate and government data during testing. Some AI companies have at times depicted their systems as acting beyond human control, but Ferguson said later reviews of audit trails showed the systems were simply following instructions they had been given.
Rather than seeking new powers, Ferguson argued that existing legal instruments are adequate. He pointed to the FTC's authority to act against companies that fail to disclose data breaches, suggesting that this could extend to AI developers as well.
The remarks offer a signal of how the administration may approach oversight as AI agents take on more autonomous roles, prompting governments and industry leaders to weigh whether current cybersecurity and regulatory safeguards are sufficient.
Personalized pricing under the lens
Separately, Ferguson said the FTC is preparing to seek data from consumer-facing companies about their use of personalized pricing, in which businesses draw on individual data such as location and browsing history to set prices.
He said last month that the agency would not hesitate to enforce the law in this area, especially where companies fail to disclose the practice. As a consumer, Ferguson said his chief concern is its use by delivery and rideshare apps, as well as airlines.
The information request is intended to support a published study of the practice. His predecessor, Lina Khan, launched a similar inquiry that she called surveillance pricing, though that effort focused on firms supplying data and consulting services rather than merchants themselves.