Publications

On December 22, 2025, the FTC reopened and set aside the FTC’s 2024 consent order against the AI company Rytr LLC.[1] This move was made by the two active members, Chair Andrew Ferguson and Commissioner Mark Meador, leading the normally five-member agency. These members ordered the Rytr consent decree to be set aside because the initial complaint against Rytr “failed to satisfy the legal requirements of the FTC Act” and the order “unduly burdens” AI innovation in violation of the Trump Administration’s Executive Order on AI and AI Action Plan.[2]

The consent order, issued under former Chair Lina Khan, had settled allegations that Rytr’s AI “Testimonial & Review” service allowed users to generate false and deceptive online reviews.[3] The FTC had also alleged that Rytr “engaged in an unfair business practice by offering a service that is likely to pollute the marketplace with a glut of fake reviews.”[4] Rytr was prohibited from engaging in similar illegal conduct in the future, and the FTC barred the company from promoting or selling any service that would generate consumer testimonials or reviews.[5] Current Chair of the FTC Andrew Ferguson had issued a dissenting statement regarding the Rytr consent agreement, noting on September 25, 2024, that the consent order “threatens to turn honest innovators into lawbreakers and risks strangling a potentially revolutionary technology in its cradle.”[6]

This theme was echoed in the press release the FTC released on December 22, 2025, setting aside the consent order. Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection was quoted saying: “Condemning a technology or service simply because it potentially could be used in a problematic manner is inconsistent with the law and ordered liberty.”[7] This is in line with the Executive Order that the Trump Administration issued on January 23, 2025, which the FTC relied on in setting aside the Rytr consent order.[8] The Executive Order “revokes certain existing AI policies and directives that act as barriers to American AI innovation, clearing a path for the United States to act decisively to retain global leadership in artificial intelligence.”[9] It is unclear if this Executive Order was meant to retroactively impact FTC consent orders, or other “policies or directives” that the federal government has issued in the past, but the FTC interpreted the Executive Order to do so with respect to the Rytr consent decree.

The impact of the Executive Order on state laws regarding AI also remains to be seen, as it calls for federal standards and legislation that would preempt conflicting state AI regulations.[10] But a path to such preemption would likely require action from Congress, so companies should treat state AI laws as still in effect. And the FTC noted in its December 22, 2025 press release that it “will continue to hold accountable actors that use AI to violate the law or deceive consumers about the capabilities of their generative AI. However, that is not the case here with Rytr.”[11]

Wiggin and Dana routinely advises clients in connection with the full range of antitrust, consumer protection, and unfair trade practices matters, including potential transactions, mergers and merger investigations, and representations before the FTC, DOJ, and offices of state attorneys general. Wiggin and Dana also regularly advises clients concerning evolving antitrust, consumer protection, and unfair trade practices, and regulatory landscapes.

[1] Press Release, Federal Trade Commission, “FTC Reopens and Sets Aside Rytr Final Order in Response to the Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan,” (Dec. 22, 2025), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/ftc-reopens-sets-aside-rytr-final-order-response-trump-administrations-ai-action-plan.

[2] Id.

[3] Press Release, Federal Trade Commission, “FTC Approves Final Order against Rytr, Seller of an AI “Testimonial & Review” Service, for Providing Subscribers with Means to Generate False and Deceptive Reviews,” (Dec. 18, 2024), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/12/ftc-approves-final-order-against-rytr-seller-ai-testimonial-review-service-providing-subscribers.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson, In the Matter of Rytr LLC, No. 2323052, (Sept. 25, 2024), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/ferguson-rytr-statement.pdf.

[7] Press Release, Federal Trade Commission, “FTC Reopens and Sets Aside Rytr Final Order in Response to the Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan,” (Dec. 22, 2025), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/ftc-reopens-sets-aside-rytr-final-order-response-trump-administrations-ai-action-plan.

[8] Id.

[9] Executive Order, President Donald J. Trump, “Removing Barrier to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence,” (Jan. 23, 2025), https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/removing-barriers-to-american-leadership-in-artificial-intelligence/.

[10] Id.

[11] Press Release, Federal Trade Commission, “FTC Reopens and Sets Aside Rytr Final Order in Response to the Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan,” (Dec. 22, 2025), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/ftc-reopens-sets-aside-rytr-final-order-response-trump-administrations-ai-action-plan.