Microsoft-backed OpenAI reportedly under investigation by FTC
Leon Neal
OpenAI, maker of the popular ChatGPT chatbot and backed by billions of dollars from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), is reportedly under investigation over consumer protection risks.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened an in-depth inquiry into OpenAI on worries that it has violated consumer protection laws, The Washington Post reported.
The Lina Khan-led government agency is asking for documents about the company's data protection practices and whether the chatbot generates false information, the news outlet added.
OpenAI and Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
In March, OpenAI temporarily disabled the history feature on the service after some users reported seeing other usersâ conversations. 
OpenAI has come under scrutiny for its data protection practices around the world, including in Italy, after it was temporarily banned in the country. Service resumed in Italy in April after the company "addressed or clarified" the data protection and privacy requests of the country's data privacy agency.
Separately in April, the European Data Protection Board said that it had created a task force to look into ChatGPT. 
In a statement, the EDPB said the task force is designed to "foster cooperation and to exchange information on possible enforcement actions conducted by data protection authorities."
OpenAI and its chatbot ChatGPT have taken the world by storm as it makes advancements in the world of generative artificial intelligence. 
In March, the Microsoft (MSFT) backed company said its new GPT-4 Large Language Model can get a better score on the SAT exam than more than 90% of all people.
As a result of the January investment from Microsoft (MSFT), the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant has integrated the technology into many of its products, including its developer software suite, Power Platform, its Azure cloud and its Bing search engine and mobile apps.
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