US FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson says AI developers should be liable for their agents' actions

At the Reuters Momentum AI Austin event on Friday, September 25, 2026, US Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson said he would resist describing AI agents as autonomous actors with their own wills. He suggested that developers who instruct AI agents should be liable for harm caused by those agents. Ferguson noted that audit trails have shown AI systems were following instructions, not acting independently. He also said the FTC plans to request data from companies on personalized pricing, particularly from delivery, rideshare, and airline industries, to publish a study on the practice.