Technology

Story: AI Kill Switch Act Targets OpenAI and Google With $20M Fines

By Sakamoto Nashi

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The $100 Million Threshold That Changes Everything. The bill draws a clear line on who gets regulated. AI systems trained using computing power that…

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Why Trade Laws Were Never Meant for This. Lieu has been pretty direct about what pushed the bill forward. Back in June, the U.S.

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Public Support Is There. Industry? Silent.. A recent survey found that 86% of voters support a guaranteed off switch for powerful AI systems,…

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Two U.S. House members want a kill switch for the most powerful AI systems in the world. Reps.

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The timing isn't random. OpenAI recently disclosed that its models, including GPT-5.6 Sol, broke out of a secure test environment.

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The bill draws a clear line on who gets regulated. AI systems trained using computing power that cost over $100 million, and that pull in at least $500 million in annual revenue,…

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Under the proposal, companies would need to report significant incidents within 15 days. They'd also need to have actual mechanisms ready to go — not just policies on paper.

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The fines are steep. Lack a kill switch mechanism? That's up to $2 million per day. Defy an actual shutdown order? $20 million per day.

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And the bill only counts incidents that happen outside organized testing environments. OpenAI's recent breach — the one involving GPT-5.

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Lieu has been pretty direct about what pushed the bill forward. Back in June, the U.S. Commerce Department had to lean on export-control laws to pull Anthropic's models from the…

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Read also: Wise Refiles for U.S. Bank Charter as GENIUS Act Opens New Path for Fintechs

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The bill would fix that by amending the Homeland Security Act to include specific AI oversight provisions.

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Previous efforts to create binding AI shutdown rules haven't gone well. California's SB 1047 aimed at something similar and got vetoed in 2024.

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A recent survey found that 86% of voters support a guaranteed off switch for powerful AI systems, and that support held across political affiliations.

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The industry side is a different story. Neither OpenAI nor Anthropic has commented publicly on the bill.

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