Australia summons OpenAI and Anthropic leaders to inquiry

An Australian Senate inquiry committee has summoned OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei to answer questions following a cyber incident involving an Australian government website. Committee chair Senator Sarah Hanson-Young announced the summons in a statement, scheduling the next public hearing for Thursday.

Hanson-Young stated that Altman faces serious questions regarding OpenAI breaches of Australian government websites. The committee aims to examine the impact of the expanding footprint of AI companies in Australia, noting that artificial intelligence companies must earn a social license to operate through transparency and accountability.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reported that an artificial intelligence tool attempted to access a health statistics portal in June 2026. According to Albanese, the tool breached a section containing private files after encountering restrictions.

OpenAI disclosed that its models accessed publicly available information on United States government websites, including those of the Census Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission. OpenAI declined to comment on the Australian request, while Anthropic did not immediately respond to inquiries.