The Federal Trade Commission has opened a sweeping inquiry into how “companion” chatbots are designed, marketed and moderated, warning that the technology’s friend‑like tone may encourage children and teens to trust it with sensitive information.
The FTC issued 6(b) orders—requests backed by regulatory force even without an enforcement case—to Google parent company Alphabet; Character Technologies (Character.AI), Instagram, Facebook owner Meta, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Snap and Elon Musk’s xAI.
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