# FTC Proposes Policy on AI Accuracy: Hiding Output Steering May Violate Federal Law

> The FTC is floating a policy statement that draws a sharp line between two ways an AI system can be wrong. Hallucinations, the errors that come from technical limits, are one thing. Deliberately steering a model's outputs toward an undisclosed ideological or commercial goal, while presenting it to users as objective, is another, and the agency argues that hidden steering can violate Section 5 of the FTC Act as a deceptive practice. The core idea is consumer expectation. People assume an AI answer reflects a good-faith attempt at accuracy, so quietly tilting responses without telling anyone is, in the FTC's reading, a form of deception rather than a protected editorial choice. The statement is open for public comment through July 31, and it carries a notable secondary argument: a claim that federal authority should preempt state rules like Colorado's AI law. That makes this about more than truth in AI, it is also a jurisdictional move over who gets to regulate these systems. How the final language lands will shape how much transparency companies owe about the thumb on the scale.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: FTC · Published Thursday, July 16, 2026_

## Wortins' read

The FTC is floating a policy statement that draws a sharp line between two ways an AI system can be wrong. Hallucinations, the errors that come from technical limits, are one thing. Deliberately steering a model's outputs toward an undisclosed ideological or commercial goal, while presenting it to users as objective, is another, and the agency argues that hidden steering can violate Section 5 of the FTC Act as a deceptive practice. The core idea is consumer expectation. People assume an AI answer reflects a good-faith attempt at accuracy, so quietly tilting responses without telling anyone is, in the FTC's reading, a form of deception rather than a protected editorial choice. The statement is open for public comment through July 31, and it carries a notable secondary argument: a claim that federal authority should preempt state rules like Colorado's AI law. That makes this about more than truth in AI, it is also a jurisdictional move over who gets to regulate these systems. How the final language lands will shape how much transparency companies owe about the thumb on the scale.

## Source

[Read the full story at FTC](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/07/ftc-seeks-public-comment-policy-statement-addressing-ai-accuracy)

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