The US Federal Trade Board (FTC) announced that it has launched an investigation against Google, Amazon and Microsoft, some of the biggest names in the technology world, as well as Anthropic and OpenAI, which work on artificial intelligence. The investigation in question will examine the investments and demands of technology giants towards artificial intelligence initiatives. At this point, it is not difficult to assume that the Microsoft-OpenAI bond will be under the spotlight.
In her statement, FTC Leader Lina Khan actually explained the main purpose of the investigation by saying, “History shows that new technologies can create new markets and healthy competition. As companies race to develop artificial intelligence and make money from it, we must protect ourselves against tactics that hinder this opportunity.”
It will be examined whether technology giants prevent competition with artificial intelligence.
As you know, nothing in the technology world has been the same since OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022. Almost all of the technological advances we saw in 2023 involved generative AI and the integration of AI into the products we already use. The FTC’s main concern is the capacity of technology giants to negatively affect the future of technology in this great race…
That’s why the FTC Leader said regarding the investigation, “Our study will shed light on whether investments and subsidiaries maintained by dominant companies risk distorting innovation and undermining fair competition.” He uses the expressions.
FTC will look into whether tech giants are interfering with startups’ development of better technologies
In other words, the FTC’s investigation will look at whether technology giants direct the innovation efforts of the enterprises they invest in to make more money, and whether they have the potential or aim to exclude their competitors from the competition with the tools they ask these enterprises to develop. It should also be noted that companies have 45 days to respond to the FTC’s investigation.
The information FTC requested from technology giants within the scope of the investigation is as follows:
- Information regarding the investment or partnership, including the strategic relationship of the agreement and the investment/partnership.
- Practical consequences of the partnership or investment, including the launch of new works and management or supervisory rights.
- Analysis of the competitive impact of the collaboration, including information regarding market share, competition, competitors, markets, sales growth potential, or expansion into product or geographic markets.
- Competitive information for AI inputs and resources, including competitive dynamics for key products and services needed for productive AI.
- Information provided to any other government agency, including foreign government agencies, in connection with any investigation, request for information, or other investigations regarding these matters.