FTC commissioner outlines enforcement, research and consumer tools to fight AI‑driven scams

FTC Commissioner Holly Oak told an audience at the Hinckley Institute of Politics that the agency is using enforcement, research orders and public education to fight a growing wave of scams that exploit artificial intelligence.

Oak said the commission has brought cases this year under its new authority targeting student‑debt relief schemes, phantom debt‑collection scams and e‑commerce “business opportunity” frauds, and has worked with domain registrars to shut down 13 websites illegally impersonating the Federal Trade Commission. “The FTC is committed to using our new authority to hold scammers accountable,” Oak said.

The commissioner described a recent enforcement action against a company called Workado, which marketed a product claiming roughly 98% accuracy in detecting AI‑generated text but tested at about 53% in independent tests. The FTC required the company to stop making the misleading claim, Oak said.

Oak outlined a three‑pronged approach: law enforcement against bad actors; incentives for private innovation; and research to inform policymakers. On the innovation side, she said the agency used…