FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said people should be deeply suspicious of AI companies seeking antitrust exemptions while lobbying for new regulation. Speaking at Georgetown University in Washington, Ferguson said such requests could create barriers to entry protecting incumbent companies from challengers. He said he was expressing a personal opinion and that President Donald Trump would set AI policy for the federal government. The remarks were the first public indication of the Trump administration’s view of a proposal from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who called for an intentional slowdown in AI development and an exemption allowing competitors to coordinate over safety concerns. Amodei said AI agents could become capable of shutting down the internet within six months, causing billions of dollars in damage.