Source: Broadband Breakfast

Broadband Breakfast reports on a significant policy shift within the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has recently vacated a final consent order against the generative artificial intelligence company Rytr. The original 2024 order had penalized the company for its AI-enabled writing assistant, which the agency initially claimed facilitated the creation of deceptive consumer reviews. Under the new leadership of Chair Andrew Ferguson and Commissioner Mark Meador, the commission determined that the initial complaint failed to satisfy the legal requirements of the FTC Act. This rare reversal was prompted by a review conducted in alignment with the "America’s AI Action Plan," aimed at removing regulatory barriers that stifle technological innovation.

The commissioners argued that condemning a service simply because it "potentially" could be used for problematic purposes is inconsistent with the law and "ordered liberty." They emphasized that features making content creation easier provide a clear benefit to consumers, and that the agency should not assume a product is unlawful without tangible evidence of consumer harm. The decision underscores a strategic recalibration in how the FTC will handle AI enforcement, shifting away from speculative bans toward evidence-based accountability. Industry experts note that this move is extremely rare, as the FTC has only reopened and vacated a handful of decisions in the last 25 years without a formal petition from the involved party.