The FTC Says Complying With State AI Laws Can Still Be Illegal

The statement specifies that such actions could be illegal even if undertaken to comply with state laws, such as the Colorado AI Act.

The policy statement focuses on the concept of 'deception' under the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts in commerce. According to the FTC, if an AI company secretly alters or suppresses outputs without disclosure to users, that constitutes a deceptive practice. This applies regardless of whether the company's intent was to comply with state-level AI regulations. The Colorado AI Act, for example, contains provisions requiring certain disclosures about AI system behaviors.

The statement signals increased FTC enforcement attention on AI model outputs and their representation to users.