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[ARTICLE · art-136269] src=washingtonexaminer.com ↗ pub= topic=ai-policy verified=true sentiment=↓ negative

It’s not ‘regulatory capture’ by the AI giants, but it’s still regulatory robbery

The Washington Examiner published a commentary arguing that federal regulators effectively serve the interests of the large AI companies they oversee, benefiting those firms at the expense of competitors, customers, workers, and taxpayers, though the piece says the dynamic falls short of outright "regulatory capture." The article attributes the pattern to the fact that no one monitors regulators more closely than the regulated companies themselves, which over time take over the agencies meant to police them.

by read1 min views1 publishedSep 21, 2026
It’s not ‘regulatory capture’ by the AI giants, but it’s still regulatory robbery
Image: Washingtonexaminer (auto-discovered)

“Regulatory capture” is a counterintuitive concept to some, but it makes perfect sense to those who have watched Washington work.

The idea here is that government regulators end up being a boon to the big businesses they are regulating, at the expense of competitors, customers, workers, and taxpayers. The reason: Nobody cares more about the actions of the regulators than do the regulated, and so over time, the regulated companies will take over the agency.

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