Tax and accounting firms · AI and the Safeguards Rule · updated
The FTC Safeguards Rule and AI agents: what 314.4(c)(8) asks a tax firm to log
The rule's element (c)(8) asks a covered firm to “monitor and log the activity of authorized users” (16 CFR 314.4(c)(8)) (read 9 October 2026). It has applied since 9 June 2023, and the exemption for firms holding information on fewer than 5,000 consumers does not lift it. When a staff member asks an AI agent to read a client's folder, the agent's reads, writes and approvals run under that person's account, and the tools' own logs record them that way.
What the rule says, and from when
Monitor and log what authorized users do
“Implement policies, procedures, and controls designed to monitor and log the activity of authorized users and detect unauthorized access or use of, or tampering with, customer information”
Applies since 9 June 2023 (87 FR 71509); 16 CFR 314.6 exempts firms with fewer than 5,000 consumers from 314.4(b)(1), (d)(2), (h) and (i), not from (c)(8).
The FTC delayed the amended rule's elements, (c)(8) among them, from 9 December 2022 to 9 June 2023 (87 FR 71509). The FTC's own guide puts it as keeping a log of authorized users' activity and watching for unauthorized access (FTC).
Tax firms are covered, at any size
IRS Publication 5708 says tax and accounting professionals are financial institutions under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act "regardless of size" (Pub 5708). The rule's exemption is narrower than it sounds:
| Fewer than 5,000 consumers | What applies |
|---|---|
| Exempt | 314.4(b)(1) a written risk assessment, (d)(2) continuous monitoring or yearly penetration tests and six-monthly vulnerability assessments, (h) a written incident response plan, (i) the Qualified Individual's yearly written report |
| Not exempt | everything else, including (c)(8): monitor and log authorized users' activity |
The exemption's own words: "Section 314.4(b)(1), (d)(2), (h), and (i) do not apply to financial institutions that maintain customer information concerning fewer than five thousand consumers." (16 CFR 314.6)
What an AI agent adds to the log
- Who: the staff member whose account ran the agent.
- When, and with which tool: Claude, Cowork, ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude Code, Codex, and the plan it ran on.
- What kind of action: a prompt, a file read or written, a connector called, an approval given or refused.
- On which client's files: the folder the task was given, or the files Copilot opened, when the tool's export records it.
- Not the words: what was asked about a client is tax return information. A copy of it in the log is one more copy to protect and dispose of; the rule asks who did what and when.
What each AI tool keeps
| Tool and plan | Log | What it keeps, and where | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Pro or Max | no activity log you can export | An individual plan. No admin audit log and no organisation export; each person's chats sit in their own account. Kept: chats: in each person's account until they delete them. Export: None for the firm; agentreceipt reads the session logs on each computer. safeguards-log reads: agentreceipt --json, from each computer's Cowork, Claude Code and Codex logs. | 9 October 2026 source 1, source 2, source 3 |
| Claude Team | a log only if you collect it | No audit log and no Compliance API; both are Enterprise only. Cowork's OpenTelemetry goes to a collector you run, kept on your infrastructure under your policies. Kept: the stream: as long as your own policies say, in the collector and storage you run. Export: Organization settings › Cowork, as the Claude Help Center names it, or Admin settings › Cowork, as Claude Docs does: the OTLP endpoint, protocol (http/json) and headers; it reaches new sessions only. Write it to a file with the OpenTelemetry Collector's file exporter. safeguards-log reads: Claude Cowork OpenTelemetry, as your collector wrote it (OTLP JSON); Claude Code OpenTelemetry, as your collector wrote it (OTLP JSON); agentreceipt --json, from each computer's Cowork, Claude Code and Codex logs. | 10 October 2026 source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4, source 5, source 6 |
| Claude Enterprise | the vendor keeps a log you can export | Anthropic keeps it. The audit log export covers 180 days; the Compliance API's Activity Feed keeps 6 years from the day it is enabled. Kept: audit log export: the past 180 days; Activity Feed: 6 years, from when the Compliance API is first enabled (not backfilled). Export: Organization settings › Data and privacy › Export logs (CSV, a link valid 24 hours); or GET /v1/compliance/activities with a Compliance Access Key. safeguards-log reads: Claude Enterprise audit log export (CSV); Claude Compliance API Activity Feed pages (JSON); Claude Cowork OpenTelemetry, as your collector wrote it (OTLP JSON); agentreceipt --json, from each computer's Cowork, Claude Code and Codex logs. | 10 October 2026 source 1, source 2, source 3 |
| ChatGPT Plus | no activity log you can export | A personal account. No admin log; each person can export only their own chats. Kept: chats: in each person's account until they delete them. Export: Settings › Data controls › Export, per person. safeguards-log reads no export from it. | 9 October 2026 source 1, source 2 |
| ChatGPT Business | no activity log you can export | No exportable activity log. The Compliance Platform is for Enterprise and Edu; an owner can export a member's chats where Export data is offered. Kept: chats: in the workspace. Export: Members page › ⋯ › Export data, by an owner, where available. safeguards-log reads no export from it. | 9 October 2026 source 1, source 2, source 3 |
| ChatGPT Enterprise | the vendor keeps a log you can export | The Compliance Logs Platform keeps 30 days of logs. Download them to keep longer. Kept: 30 days at OpenAI. Export: An Admin key with the log permissions, then GET /v1/compliance/workspaces/{id}/logs; OpenAI's cookbook has a download script that writes JSONL. safeguards-log reads: ChatGPT Enterprise Compliance Logs Platform files (JSONL). | 9 October 2026 source 1, source 2, source 3 |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | the vendor keeps a log you can export | Purview Audit (Standard) keeps it, with the files each interaction touched, for 180 days at no extra charge. Kept: 180 days in Audit (Standard); longer with Audit (Premium). Export: Purview portal › Audit › search (Operation: CopilotInteraction) › Export: CSV, up to 50,000 rows a search. safeguards-log reads: Microsoft Purview audit search export (CSV). | 9 October 2026 source 1, source 2, source 3 |
| Gemini in Google Workspace | the vendor keeps a log you can export | The Admin console's Gemini log events record who, in which app and which action. Which editions can see them is set by edition. Kept: per Google's data retention for audit logs. Export: Admin console › Reporting › Audit and investigation › Gemini for Workspace log events › Export (Sheets or CSV) safeguards-log reads no export from it. | 10 October 2026 source 1 |
| Claude Code | a log only if you collect it | Session logs on each computer, and OpenTelemetry to a collector you run on any plan; Anthropic's Compliance API covers it on Enterprise. Kept: on each computer, until cleaned up; the stream: as long as your own policies say, in the collector and storage you run. Export: Agentreceipt reads each computer's session logs; or set CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1 and an OTLP endpoint. safeguards-log reads: Claude Code OpenTelemetry, as your collector wrote it (OTLP JSON); agentreceipt --json, from each computer's Cowork, Claude Code and Codex logs. | 10 October 2026 source 1, source 2, source 3 |
| Codex | a log only if you collect it | Session logs on each computer; on ChatGPT Enterprise, the Compliance Logs Platform's Codex log too. Kept: on each computer; 30 days at OpenAI on Enterprise. Export: Agentreceipt reads each computer's session logs; Enterprise: the Compliance Logs Platform. safeguards-log reads: agentreceipt --json, from each computer's Cowork, Claude Code and Codex logs; ChatGPT Enterprise Compliance Logs Platform files (JSONL). | 9 October 2026 source 1, source 2 |
Related duties
Dispose of customer information within two years of its last use
“Develop, implement, and maintain procedures for the secure disposal of customer information in any format no later than two years after the last date the information is used”
Applies since 9 June 2023, firms of every size.
Oversee service providers, the AI vendors among them
“Taking reasonable steps to select and retain service providers that are capable of maintaining appropriate safeguards for the customer information at issue”
Applies firms of every size.
Tell the FTC about a breach of 500 or more consumers' information within 30 days
“Notify the Federal Trade Commission about notification events in accordance with paragraphs (j)(1) and (2) of this section.”
Applies since 13 May 2024 (16 CFR 314.5): an event involving the information of at least 500 consumers, as soon as possible and no later than 30 days after discovery.
Write the AI tools you allow, where each one's log is, and who reviews it into your plan: build the AI addendum.
Keep the log on your own computer, free
$ npx --allow-remote=root https://agentwares.vercel.app/dl/safeguards-log-0.2.0.tgz add cowork-otel.jsonl purview-audit-export.csv $ npx --allow-remote=root https://agentwares.vercel.app/dl/safeguards-log-0.2.0.tgz report --from 2026-07-01 --to 2026-09-30
safeguards-log reads the exports your AI tools already give you (Cowork and Claude Code OpenTelemetry, the Claude Enterprise audit log and Compliance API, ChatGPT Enterprise's Compliance Logs, Purview's Copilot audit, agentreceipt), keeps one hash-chained log of who did what and when, without the words, and writes the period's report as Markdown, PDF and CSV with a SHA-256 commitment. Runs on your computer: no account, no upload, no AI. Also a local MCP server: the same command with mcp.
A signed annual AI-activity report
A signed annual AI-activity report adds a dated Ed25519 signature over the SHA-256 commitment this tool prints, so a reviewer can check the report was not changed after it was signed, and when it was signed. Only the commitment is sent to be signed: your log and report never leave your computer. The report itself is complete without it.
One purchase for each year's report, with no account; the report command prints the link for your report's commitment.
okgate as your firm's OpenTelemetry collector is not built
okgate as your firm's OpenTelemetry collector: a hash-chained log of every agent action on client files, per preparer, without running a collector yourself. It would hold your firm's telemetry, which raises the question of tax return information (IRC 7216) that this local tool avoids, so it is not built until that is settled.
Until it is, the free tool above keeps the same log on your own computer, from a collector you run.
Sources
- 16 CFR 314.4, Elements of an information security program (Cornell LII), read 9 October 2026
- 16 CFR 314.5, Effective date (Cornell LII), read 9 October 2026
- 16 CFR 314.6, Exceptions (Cornell LII), read 9 October 2026
- 87 FR 71509, the delay of the amended rule's compliance date to 9 June 2023 (FR Doc. 2022-25201), read 9 October 2026
- FTC, FTC Safeguards Rule: What Your Business Needs to Know, read 9 October 2026
- IRS Publication 5708 (Rev. 8-2024), Creating a Written Information Security Plan for your Tax & Accounting Practice, read 9 October 2026
- Microsoft Learn, Audit logs for Copilot and AI applications, read 9 October 2026
- Claude Help Center, Monitor Claude Cowork activity with OpenTelemetry, read 10 October 2026
- Claude Docs, Cowork monitoring with OpenTelemetry (events and attributes), read 10 October 2026
- Claude Platform Docs, Retrieve session transcripts (Compliance API): its table comparing the Compliance API with OpenTelemetry logging, read 10 October 2026