Recently, Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI has attracted widespread attention. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated in court documents that overlapping board memberships could harm competition. This stance aligns with Musk's lawsuit, in which he accuses OpenAI and Microsoft of violating antitrust laws.
Image Source Note: Image generated by AI, licensed from Midjourney
Musk's lawsuit points out that Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, served on the boards of both OpenAI and Microsoft from 2017 to 2023. Additionally, Deannah Templeton was a non-voting board member of OpenAI while also holding an executive position at Microsoft. The U.S. government's court documents emphasize that even if the relevant directors have resigned, the company's actions may still adversely affect market competition, and once a company ceases potential illegal activities, it still bears the burden of proving that such actions will not be repeated.
Musk is seeking a federal court order to stop OpenAI from continuing what he calls an "illegal" profit-oriented transformation and is requesting a hearing on the matter. A related hearing is scheduled for January 14 of next year. This legal action is part of the ongoing conflict between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, with both having co-founded OpenAI with the intention of promoting the societal benefits of artificial intelligence through a non-profit model.
Currently, the FTC is conducting a multi-faceted investigation into OpenAI, which includes an upcoming study on Microsoft and other tech companies' investments in AI, as well as potential misleading consumer behavior and board overlap issues involving OpenAI. Hoffman has publicly criticized FTC Chair Lina Khan on social media, calling for her resignation.
Musk initially filed his lawsuit against OpenAI in state court before re-filing in federal court. He claims that since 2019, OpenAI has accepted billions of dollars in investments from Microsoft, straying from its original non-profit mission, and emphasizes that immediate court intervention is crucial to prevent OpenAI from monopolizing the AI market. OpenAI has not commented on Musk's latest lawsuit but previously defended Hoffman and Templeton's board positions, stating that Musk's lawsuit is baseless and pointing out that he had supported a more traditional corporate structure.
Key Points:
🌟 Musk sues OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing both of antitrust behavior.
📄 The U.S. Department of Justice and FTC support Musk's lawsuit, stating that overlapping boards could harm competition.
⚖️ A hearing is set for January 14 of next year, with Musk calling for the court to stop OpenAI's profit-driven transformation.
