AI industry book destruction merits US FTC antitrust probe, civil society groups say
( August 21, 2026, 14:51 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: AI industry business practices like Anthropic's effort to "destructively scan all the books in the world" should be investigated as a potential unfair method of competition in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, civil society organizations said in a letter to the US Federal Trade Commission. "Unlike a standard data acquisition strategy, this hoard-and-destroy practice could serve as yet another structural mechanism to raise rival companies' costs and deny start-ups and fledgling competitors a key source material essential to competing in the AI marketplace," the letter said.Statement follows below:...
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