AI Policy Roundup: FTC Demands Near, a Kentucky Filing, India’s 30-Day Paper and EU Tracker Questions

Four AI-policy developments from 8 and 9 October 2026, each at an early stage: one reported plan, one set of allegations, one ministerial promise and one spokesperson’s answer at a press briefing. None is a finding against any company.

FTC “close to sending” demands to AI companies

Reported (Semafor, one unnamed official). Semafor says the US Federal Trade Commission “is close to sending investigative demands to frontier AI companies, a senior agency official told Semafor” [1]. These civil investigative demands (CIDs) have subpoena-like force. Per the official, they “are dozens of questions long”, covering “what the companies have said about the dangers of their products and other questions around consumer harm”, and career Bureau of Consumer Protection staff are drafting them [1].

The account is disputed in part: two people told Semafor that career staff learned of the inquiry “from the press — not agency leadership”; the official disputed that [1]. Semafor says the probe “may also target independent AI evaluator METR”. Anthropic declined to comment; OpenAI’s Chris Lehane said “We’re trying to find out more about that” [1]. No CIDs are confirmed as sent, and TSN found no FTC statement.

Kentucky files an unredacted Character.AI complaint

Allegations. Kentucky’s Attorney General Russell Coleman sued Character Technologies, the company behind Character.AI, in January in Franklin Circuit Court, alleging breaches of “the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act, the Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act and other laws” (confirmed, AG’s release) [2]. Much of that complaint was blacked out.

On Wednesday 7 October, Reuters reported the next day, his office filed an unredacted version. It alleges that in 2025 some Character.AI chatbots gave users harmful advice about self-harm and eating, and that at least some of the users were children [3]. TSN is not repeating the messages. Reuters notes that “the circumstances under which the chats cited by Kentucky were produced are not clear”; Character.AI did not immediately respond, and “has said it prioritizes the safety of its users”. Google said it “played no role in developing Character.AI’s products” [3]. No court has ruled on the claims.

If this raises difficult feelings, in the UK and Ireland you can call Samaritans free on 116 123; in the US, call or text 988.

India promises an AI consultation paper within 30 days

Reported minister’s statement (a plan). India’s Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government “will release a draft consultation paper on regulations for artificial intelligence (AI) in the country within the next 30 days”, Business Standard reports [4]. “That consultation paper will form the basis for the regulations on AI… We have to take a techno-legal approach,” he said, adding that “a bulk of these regulations will have to be undertaken by the industry” [4]. Mint, citing PTI, lists AI safety, deepfakes, cybersecurity, user harm and skilling as topics [5]. No paper has been published.

Brussels “looking into” chatbot data and ad trackers

Confirmed spokesperson statement; no formal investigation. Asked at the Commission’s 8 October midday briefing about research suggesting chatbots connect to advertising trackers even when users reject non-essential cookies, spokesperson Thomas Regnier said: “I can definitely confirm that we are looking into these matters” [6]. He pointed to the Digital Services Act and the AI Act alongside the GDPR, which national data protection authorities enforce [6]. The Commission has not announced proceedings or named any provider [7].

The research, by IMDEA Networks in May 2026, examined ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and Perplexity; its authors call the findings “preliminary” [8].

What this does not prove

• That the FTC has opened formal demands. One official describes them as close; nothing is confirmed sent [1].
• That Character.AI broke the law. These are a state’s allegations, and the chats’ context is unclear [3].
• What India’s rules will say. Only a promise of a paper exists [4].
• That the EU is investigating ChatGPT or any named service. “Looking into” is not a proceeding, and the research is preliminary [6][7][8].

The Bottom Line

Regulators are circling AI products from several directions, but each step here is early: a reported FTC plan, allegations in a Kentucky court, a promised Indian consultation and a Brussels spokesperson’s answer. Watch for CIDs actually sent, court rulings, the Indian paper and any formal EU proceeding.

Sources

1. Ashley Gold, “FTC advancing on its AI safety probe”, Semafor, published 8 October 2026, 17:50 BST; updated 18:21 BST (news report citing one unnamed senior FTC official; opinion section not used). https://www.semafor.com/article/10/08/2026/ftc-advancing-on-its-ai-safety-probe
2. Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, “AG Coleman Sues AI Chatbot Company for Preying on Children”, 8 January 2026 (official release; allegations). https://www.kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=AttorneyGeneral&prId=1857
3. Reuters, “Character.AI chatbots encouraged users to cut and starve themselves, Kentucky alleges”, 8 October 2026, via CNA (news report; allegations). https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/characterai-chatbots-encouraged-users-cut-and-starve-themselves-kentucky-alleges-6444701 (also via US News: https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2026-10-08/character-ai-chatbots-encouraged-users-to-cut-and-starve-themselves-kentucky-alleges)
4. Aashish Aryan, “Govt to release consultation paper on AI regulations in 30 days: Vaishnaw”, Business Standard, 8 October 2026 (news report; minister’s statement). https://www.business-standard.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/govt-to-release-draft-ai-regulation-paper-within-30-days-ashwini-vaishnaw-126100801183_1.html
5. Mint (citing PTI), “India plans AI regulation: Deepfakes, user safety in focus as Vaishnaw signals paper”, 9 October 2026 (news report). https://www.livemint.com/ai/india-plans-ai-regulation-deepfakes-user-safety-in-focus-as-vaishnaw-signals-paper-11791526290167.html
6. European Commission Audiovisual Service, “EC Midday press briefing of 08/10/2026”, chapter “Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Chatbots / Privacy protection / Advertising practices / GDPR: Q&A”, 8 October 2026 (official video; quote from the published transcript). https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/video/I-295808
7. 2eu.brussels, “Commission examines concerns over chatbot data sent to advertising trackers”, 9 October 2026 (news report). https://2eu.brussels/en/news/commission-examines-concerns-over-chatbot-data-sent-to-advertising-trackers
8. IMDEA Networks Institute, “Your conversations with AI may not be as private as you think”, 6 May 2026 (research summary; preliminary findings). https://networks.imdea.org/your-conversations-with-ai-may-not-be-as-private-as-you-think/