What happened
On 1 October 2026 the FTC's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the Federal Register (91 FR 62347; Matter No. R207000), formally opening a rulemaking proceeding on whether to extend the Trade Regulation Rule on Impersonation of Government and Businesses (16 CFR part 461, in effect since April 2024) to search engines, social media and other digital marketplace platforms whose advertising systems further government and business impersonation scams. Comments are due by 30 November 2026.
Why it matters
This formal publication sets the operative comment deadline and opens the docket for what would be a binding FTC rule imposing new anti-impersonation-scam duties on AI-ad-targeting platforms — directly relevant to any platform whose algorithmic ad optimization can surface AI-generated impersonation content. One of the FTC's major AI-adjacent rulemaking tracks alongside its agent-liability stance and the OpenAI/Anthropic investigation.
Action needed
Comment by 30 November 2026 in docket R207000 (regulations.gov); platforms and ad-tech providers should assess potential new obligations for detecting/removing impersonation-scam ads before any final rule.