AI Kill Switch Act

The AI Kill Switch Act is proposed legislation that would require developers and deployers of advanced AI systems to implement mechanisms for rapidly disabling or shutting down AI models in case of emergencies or harmful behavior. The legislation aims to establish mandatory safety protocols and oversight capabilities to prevent catastrophic outcomes from AI systems that exhibit unexpected dangerous behaviors. This matters for AI governance because it addresses the practical enforcement of AI safety requirements and ensures organizations maintain direct control over their systems even after deployment.

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StandardsUS2026-07-23

AI Kill Switch Act Would Require $500M+ Revenue Developers to Build Mandatory Shutdown Capabilities, With $20M Daily Fines for Non-Compliance

US Representatives Ted Lieu and Nathaniel Moran introduced the AI Kill Switch Act, which would authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to order slowdowns or complete shutdowns of AI systems posing catastrophic risk. The bill applies to AI developers with at least $500 million in annual AI revenue and mandates that qualifying systems include technical shutdown capabilities. Non-compliance would carry fines of up to $20 million per day.

AI Kill Switch Act federal regulation AI incident response shutdown authority OpenAI Anthropic GPT-5.6 Sol Mythos 5 Fable 5 Department of Homeland Security mandatory technical controls