On July 7, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission published a proposed Policy Statement Concerning the Suppression of Accuracy in Artificial Intelligence Systems in the Federal Register (91 FR 41638, File No. P264200), opening a public comment period that runs through July 31, 2026. The statement sets out how the FTC believes Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices, applies to companies that market AI systems, with a focus on practices that degrade or suppress the accuracy of AI outputs.
The move follows a presidential directive instructing the FTC to address the legal implications of state laws that would require developers to alter the truthful outputs of AI models. Framing accuracy suppression as a potential deception issue puts the FTC in the middle of the escalating conflict between federal AI policy and the fast-growing body of state AI statutes, and signals that the agency intends to use its existing consumer protection authority, rather than new rulemaking, as its primary AI enforcement lever.
For AI vendors and enterprises deploying AI systems, the statement is an early marker of how US federal enforcement will scrutinize claims about model behavior and any intentional distortion of model outputs. The docket (FTC-2026-0859 on regulations.gov) had already drawn roughly 40 comments within the first two weeks, and the short comment window suggests the Commission intends to finalize the statement quickly.