# Jonathan Kanter says antitrust exemption for AI could enable cartel, warns safety risks

Digest AI · Policy & Regulation · published 2026-09-19T14:00:00Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/jonathan-kanter-says-antitrust-exemption-for-ai-could-enable-cartel-wa

## Summary

In a Decoder interview, former DOJ antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter, now a law professor at WashU and Carnegie Mellon, discusses the growing AI safety debate. He notes that researchers at Anthropic and Google DeepMind have quit, saying the models pose real threats, and that some experts claim the chance of AI causing catastrophic harm exceeds 10 percent.

Kanter says CEOs of frontier AI firms—including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind and Meta—have asked for antitrust exemptions so they can coordinate on safety measures. He cautions that such coordination could amount to a cartel and that existing antitrust statutes already prohibit anti‑competitive collusion. Instead, he argues product‑liability law and clearer regulatory standards should hold companies accountable, pointing out Congress’ failure to act and the more proactive role of some states.

The conversation also touches on political realignments, with libertarian David Sacks retweeting Lina Khan’s view that no exemption is needed, and concerns about Chinese open‑weight models. Kanter stresses that protecting consumers and encouraging competition, rather than granting monopolistic leeway, is the best way for the U.S. to stay ahead in AI development.

## Key points

- Researchers at Anthropic and Google DeepMind have quit, saying AI models pose real safety threats.
- AI CEOs have asked for antitrust exemptions to coordinate safety, which Kanter warns could create a cartel.
- Kanter argues existing antitrust law and product‑liability theory can address safety without new exemptions, citing Congress’ inaction.

## Why it matters

If AI firms secure antitrust exemptions, it could reshape competition policy and safety oversight, affecting liability frameworks and market dynamics across the AI industry.

## Sources

1. [Does AI need an antitrust exemption so it doesn’t kill everyone????](https://theverge.com/podcast/997382/openai-microsoft-anthropic-elon-musk-cartel-ai-competition) (The Verge AI, 2026-09-19)

Part of the developing story: [Royal Push Tech Turmoil AI Governance Saga](https://digestai.news/thread/king-charles-iii-hosts-ai-executives-in-scotland) (6 stories)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Jonathan Kanter says antitrust exemption for AI could enable cartel, warns safety risks", 19 September 2026, https://digestai.news/story/jonathan-kanter-says-antitrust-exemption-for-ai-could-enable-cartel-wa

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