A new lawsuit has emerged, alleging that Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI, and Google engaged in an illegal agreement aimed at intentionally slowing their AI development efforts.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the suit contends that these leading AI firms violated antitrust laws by agreeing to work together to decelerate advancements, ultimately diminishing the benefits for consumers using paid AI services.
The coordination is reported to have started on September 12, when Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei published an essay advocating for industry collaboration on slowing AI progress for safety reasons. On that same day, Sam Altman from OpenAI, Elon Musk from SpaceXAI, and Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind publicly aligned with Amodei’s views.
Interestingly, the lawsuit suggests that this collaboration may have been forming for months prior. It highlights a statement from July 2026, where top officials from several prominent AI labs mentioned the “intense competitive pressure” against individually slowing development. This statement called for government support of a global slowdown in automated AI progress.
The plaintiffs argue that an agreement among these companies—essentially deciding that their advancements should proceed more slowly than the competitive market would allow—has a negative impact on consumers.
Attorneys for four plaintiffs, who are subscribers to services like ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, or Gemini, are leading this lawsuit on behalf of a proposed nationwide class of customers who pay for similar AI subscriptions.
It’s important to note that the plaintiffs do not oppose the idea of companies independently choosing to slow down their own development for safety. The crux of their argument is that antitrust laws prohibit them from choosing the “shortcut” of collective restraint instead of assuming individual responsibility. They assert that a competitive environment fosters accountability and real progress.
“AI could spiral out of control and pose immense risks if safety protocols are dictated by private agreements among powerful profit-driven tech companies,” warned Nick Rowley, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs.
So far, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and SpaceXAI have not responded publicly to requests for comment regarding the lawsuit.
In his essay proposing the slowdown, Amodei acknowledged the potential for antitrust issues, suggesting it would be beneficial for the government to oversee or facilitate discussions between the companies. He clarified that while the government wouldn’t need to actively participate, it should issue specific waivers for discussions about safety.
In the wake of this, Altman expressed on social media that OpenAI supports a federal framework to create consistent safety standards but believed there was no necessity to wait for legal exemptions or new legislation to start ensuring safety in their practices.
The ongoing discussions about regulating the pace of AI development stem from growing fears about AI technologies potentially evading human control. Moreover, many leaders within the AI sector have been vocal about the need to develop unified safety standards to prioritize safety in AI initiatives.
The plaintiffs emphasize they are not against AI companies seeking assistance from Congress, the White House, or other entities to formulate regulations, nor do they oppose the pursuit of antitrust exemptions.
However, they acknowledge that such cooperative efforts with the federal government might face significant challenges.
Former President Donald Trump has dismissed calls for regulation on social media, labeling them a “conspiracy.” He questioned why industry leaders would advocate for rules that could, in his words, lead to their own downfall. On social media, Trump mentioned the formation of an AI task force and plans to appoint an “AI czar,” though details remain sparse.
The Trump administration has publicly pushed for American AI firms to outpace China in the tech arena. While some Democratic figures advocate for stricter AI regulations, much of the Republican response mirrors Trump’s stance.
Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, noted during a recent Senate hearing that he would never support giving exemptions from antitrust laws to the world’s most powerful companies, concerned that such collaborations could undermine competition instead.
