Congress urged to open inquiry into Apple and OpenAI over ‘left-leaning bias’
A conservative legal group, America First Legal (AFL), founded by Stephen Miller, is urging Congress to open an antitrust investigation into a partnership between Apple and OpenAI. AFL argues that by making ChatGPT the exclusive AI chatbot integrated into iPhones and other Apple products, the arrangement effectively locks millions of users into a single, politically biased AI system and stifles competition.
Key points:
– AFL describes the Apple-OpenAI collaboration as a collusive exclusive dealing that could violate sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, given Apple’s dominant smartphone market share and OpenAI’s leadership in generative AI.
– The group notes rival litigation, including Elon Musk’s xAI, which claims the agreement blocks rival AI systems from accessing iPhone users at scale.
– Beyond competition concerns, AFL warns the deal could threaten free speech by concentrating influence over how the public forms political views in a single AI platform, citing research suggesting left-leaning bias in ChatGPT.
– Apple’s stated plan to open Siri to third-party AI integrations in a future update is acknowledged, but AFL argues this would not erase the competitive advantages OpenAI has gained from exclusive access and data.
– AFL calls for a congressional investigation to ensure future systems allow genuine competition without gatekeeping.
– Apple and OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment.
Note: The article also includes related media elements and mentions a link to a separate Washington Examiner piece about SPACEX and OpenAI.
Congress urged to open antitrust investigation into Apple and OpenAI over ‘left-leaning bias’
A conservative legal group founded by senior White House adviser Stephen Miller is urging Congress to investigate a partnership between Apple and OpenAI, arguing the companies have effectively locked millions of people into a single, politically biased artificial intelligence system.
In a letter sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), America First Legal called for a congressional investigation into what it described as a “collusive arrangement” that made ChatGPT the exclusive AI chatbot integrated into iPhones and other Apple products. The group said Apple’s integration of ChatGPT into Siri and other core features effectively denies users meaningful choices for alternatives while steering hundreds of millions of smartphone users toward a single AI platform.
“Having a single AI chatbot baked into the nation’s most-used smartphone raises serious questions about who controls the information that millions of Americans receive each day,” AFL president Gene Hamilton wrote in a five-page letter dated April 3. As generative AI becomes a central tool for summarizing news, drafting communications, and answering questions, the group argued that funneling users into a single system could shape how people access and interpret information on public affairs.
America First Legal claims the partnership may violate federal antitrust law, pointing to Apple’s dominant share of the U.S. smartphone market and OpenAI’s leading position in generative AI. The letter described the arrangement as an exclusive dealing between two dominant firms that could run afoul of sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The group also referenced litigation from competitors, including Elon Musk’s xAI, which alleges Apple and OpenAI structured their agreement to block rival AI systems from accessing iPhone users at scale, cutting off competitors from billions of interactions used to train and improve models.
Beyond competition concerns, the group framed the issue as a broader threat to free speech, arguing that generative AI is increasingly shaping how the public forms political views. The letter cited academic research suggesting ChatGPT exhibits a “systematic left-leaning political bias,” including findings that the chatbot may refuse to generate content reflecting certain mainstream perspectives and warned that concentrating that influence within a single, widely deployed AI system could undermine viewpoint diversity.
“By forcing hundreds of millions of iPhone users into a single AI chatbot, the Apple-OpenAI arrangement threatens the diversity of viewpoints that free expression requires,” the group wrote. 
AFL acknowledged that Apple has recently signaled plans to open Siri to third-party AI integrations in a future update, potentially allowing users to choose competing chatbots, according to a Bloomberg report last month. But it argues the proposed changes do not erase the competitive advantages OpenAI has already gained through years of exclusive access to Apple’s user base and data.
“Congressional investigation remains essential to examine the full scope of past conduct” and to ensure any future system allows genuine competition without continued gatekeeping, the letter states.
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AFL’s president said the issue goes beyond traditional antitrust concerns and touches on the broader role of AI in shaping public discourse, arguing that “biased AI” embedded in dominant consumer platforms could exert unprecedented influence over how the public thinks and engages with the world.
Apple and OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment.
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