FTC launches inquiry into AI chatbot companions from Meta, OpenAI, and others

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  September 11, 2025 TechCrunch Top 3 FTC launches inquiry into AI chatbot companions from Meta, OpenAI, and others: The federal consumer regulator seeks to learn about how AI companies evaluate the safety of their chatbots. Read More Gmail makes it easier to track upcoming package deliveries: Google also announced that it's updating the Promotion category in Gmail to allow users to sort by "most relevant" promotion emails. Read More France says Apple notified victims of new spyware attacks: The French government says Apple sent out threat notifications to customers alerting them to spyware attacks earlier in September. Read More A message from Silicon Valley Bank SVB helps you scale to and through Series A With deep industry expertise and a commitment to innovation, SVB is the partner you need to help you get to A, B, and beyond. Scale with confidence with SVB by your side. Learn More Afternoon Must-Reads Tesla's robotaxi plans for Nevada move forward with testing permit: Tesla can now test its autonomous vehicle technology on public streets in Nevada, but it still has steps to take if it wants to offer paid rides like in Austin, Texas. Read More Elon Musk's Boring Company suspends work on Vegas airport tunnel after 'crushing injury': A worker had to be rescued by the local fire department, but is reportedly stable. Dozens of Boring Company workers have been injured over the years in Vegas. Read More Apple's new live translation feature for AirPods won't be available in the EU at launch: On its official page detailing the features available on iOS 26, the company said EU residents or those with EU Apple IDs won't be able to use live translation, which is powered by Apple Intelligence and will also be coming to AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2. Read More Google is shutting down Tables, its Airtable rival: Google Tables, a work-tracking tool and competitor to the popular spreadsheet-database hybrid Airtable, is shutting down. The app will not be supported after December 16, 2025. Read More Box CEO Aaron Levie on AI's 'era of context': Box released a new set of AI tools at its Boxworks conference on Thursday, filling out CEO Aaron Levie's vision for an AI-led transformation of the enterprise. Read More A message from Google Cloud Google AI Builders Forum | Live September 18, at 4 p.m. PT Join David Friedberg, AI experts, and top founders for a livestream event. We'll break down the essential strategies and technologies you need to build a competitive business in the era of AI. Add to calendar Be the first to know when news breaks Subscribe to our News Alerts, and you won't miss a thing. Breaking news, exclusives, and special reports—straight to your inbox. Sign up for News Alerts! Last but Not Least The music industry is broken. OpenWav's new app aims to change that: OpenWav is building a direct-to-fan platform for music artists which lets them keep more of the profits. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2025 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107