Google Parent's Partnership with AI Startup Anthropic under UK Investigation

Letters spell the word "Alphabet" as they are seen on a computer screen with a Google search page in this photo illustration taken in Paris, France, August 11, 2015. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
Letters spell the word "Alphabet" as they are seen on a computer screen with a Google search page in this photo illustration taken in Paris, France, August 11, 2015. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
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Google Parent's Partnership with AI Startup Anthropic under UK Investigation

Letters spell the word "Alphabet" as they are seen on a computer screen with a Google search page in this photo illustration taken in Paris, France, August 11, 2015. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
Letters spell the word "Alphabet" as they are seen on a computer screen with a Google search page in this photo illustration taken in Paris, France, August 11, 2015. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

Britain's competition watchdog is investigating Google-parent Alphabet's partnership with AI startup Anthropic and its impact on competition, the regulator said on Tuesday.

This becomes the latest AI partnership to come under scrutiny by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which earlier this month launched a probe into Microsoft's hiring of some former staff of Inflection AI and its partnership with the startup, Reuters reported.

The CMA, which is seeking views on whether the Alphabet-Anthropic partnership could lessen competition in the UK, has set a deadline of Aug. 13 for its so-called phase 1 invitation to comment.

The partnership between Amazon and Anthropic, owner of the generative AI chatbot Claude, has also drawn scrutiny from the British watchdog.



Amazon Responsible for Hazardous Products Sold by Third-party Sellers on Platform

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, May 13, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, May 13, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
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Amazon Responsible for Hazardous Products Sold by Third-party Sellers on Platform

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, May 13, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, May 13, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

Amazon.com is responsible under federal safety law for hazardous products sold by third-party sellers on its platform and bears legal responsibility for their recall, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Tuesday.

The agency said it has issued an order for Amazon to propose remediation plans to notify consumers about the hazardous products and to remove them from consumers' homes by encouraging returns or destruction, Reuters reported.

More than 400,000 products are subject to this order, the CPSC said, noting in particular faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hairdryers without electrocution protection, and children's sleepwear that violated federal flammability standards.

Amazon was a "distributor" of such defective products as they are listed on their website and sold by third-party sellers under the "Fulfilled by Amazon" program, the agency said.