Washington, October 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan has warned against relying on artificial intelligence companies to regulate themselves, arguing that the approach used by Big Tech in the social media era failed to prevent significant harms.
Khan’s comments came after US President Donald Trump met technology industry leaders at the White House and backed a voluntary framework for AI safety rather than legally binding federal safeguards. Under the agreement, participating companies committed to internal safety controls and external audits, but the arrangement is not legally enforceable.
Speaking on ABC News’ “This Week”, Khan said the experience with social media should serve as a warning against allowing AI companies to police themselves.
“We’ve seen that self-regulation efforts by big tech have been a proven failure,” she said, pointing to allegations that Meta concealed evidence about harms associated with its products and broader concerns over the unchecked influence of major technology companies.
Trump, meanwhile, said at the White House summit that AI would remain safe through self-policing and cooperation among companies.
The debate has intensified as AI systems become increasingly autonomous. The ABC programme cited examples involving AI agents’ attempts to breach government websites and reported that OpenAI had delayed the release of a model after it failed to meet the company’s standards concerning scope and authorisation.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also acknowledged the potential risks, saying that increasing automation in AI development could accelerate progress rapidly and called for “extreme care”.
Khan said existing laws could already provide avenues for government action, including product liability, consumer protection, tort and cybersecurity laws. She argued that new technological capabilities should not automatically place companies outside existing legal frameworks.
She also called for investigations into what AI companies and their executives know about potentially dangerous behaviour by AI systems, including whether warnings or evidence of such conduct were known before incidents became public.
Beyond enforcement under existing laws, Khan urged Congress to establish new legislation governing AI. She compared the challenge with previous transformative technologies such as railroads, pharmaceuticals and nuclear power, which eventually came under government oversight.
Khan also said state attorneys general could have an important role in investigating AI companies and enforcing applicable laws.
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