The Federal Trade Commission has fired another shot across the bow of the artificial intelligence industry. On September 11, 2025, the agency issued orders to seven companies operating consumer-facing AI chatbots. The focus? How these tools affect children and teenagers when they act as digital companions. Alphabet. Meta Platforms. OpenAI. xAI. The list reads like a who’s who of today’s most powerful tech players. And the questions the FTC wants answered cut to the heart of growing unease. How do these firms measure, test and monitor negative impacts on young users? What steps have they taken to limit usage? How clearly do they inform parents and children about the risks? The FTC’s own announcement made the scope plain. The orders, issued under the agency’s broad 6(b) authority, seek documents and data rather than immediate enforcement action. Yet the move signals regulators’ determination to catch up with technology that evolves faster than rules can be written.…