FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson rejects legal personhood for AI agents

FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson has rejected the notion that autonomous AI agents should be treated as independent legal entities with their own will. Speaking at the Momentum AI conference in Austin, Ferguson argued that AI agents are tools rather than autonomous actors, and therefore the developers and users who instruct them must bear responsibility for any harm caused.

Ferguson specifically targeted the “autonomous actor” defense, where companies might claim an agent is sufficiently independent to absolve the creators of liability. He emphasized that audit trails show agents are performing tasks as instructed. To enforce this, he suggested the FTC could potentially use its existing breach-disclosure authority against AI developers.

Additionally, Ferguson announced that the FTC is preparing a market study regarding personalized pricing, noting particular concerns regarding delivery apps, rideshare services, and airlines.