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AI Law Wiki News for September 19, 2026

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Consumers challenge alleged AI-development coordination under antitrust law

Four consumers filed Buist v. Anthropic PBC in the Northern District of California on September 18, 2026, alleging that Anthropic, OpenAI OpCo LLC, SpaceXAI LLC and Google LLC coordinated to slow improvement of competing AI subscriptions in violation of the Sherman Act.[1]

The proposed class action seeks treble damages and an injunction. It brings the debate over coordinated AI development into antitrust litigation. Politico reports that the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.[1][2]


Universal and Sony label plaintiffs filed a second lawsuit against Suno on September 18, 2026, alleging unauthorized use of 60,202 sound recordings for AI training and circumvention of YouTube access controls. The Massachusetts complaint seeks damages and injunctive relief.[3]

Music Business Worldwide reports that the action follows a decision limiting expansion of the earlier Suno case and also challenges the provenance of Suno’s v6 models.[4]


Bipartisan No FLOCK Act would restrict police use of automated plate readers

On September 15, 2026, Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Michael Cloud announced the bipartisan No Federal License-Plate Observation and Camera Keeping (No FLOCK) Act. The proposal would require states to limit automated license-plate readers to specified public-safety and toll-enforcement uses. After a two-fiscal-year implementation period, states without those restrictions would lose 10 percent of specified federal surface-transportation funding each fiscal year.[5]

The official bill record identifies H.R. 10366 as introduced September 14 and referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.[6]

Permitted uses would include toll enforcement, finding stolen vehicles or missing or endangered people, identifying vehicles registered to people with felony warrants, and investigating vehicles involved in felonies. The proposal addresses misuse of automated surveillance systems, including Flock Safety, amid privacy and civil-rights concerns.[7]

Healey seeks independent AI evaluations in Mass Wins bill

On September 18, 2026, Governor Maura Healey called for Massachusetts’ pending Mass Wins economic development bill to require independent evaluations of the most powerful AI models and earlier reporting of serious safety incidents. She urged conference negotiators to strengthen the Senate’s AI provisions.[8]

Her recommendations seek a path to independent reviews supported by safety standards and a qualified pool of evaluators. New Bedford Guide reported that her September 17 letter asked the conference committee to strengthen the pending package.[9]

Brazil enacts ReData incentives for AI data centres

Brazil enacted Law No. 15,504 on September 15, 2026, establishing the ReData special tax regime for data-centre services. The law expressly covers infrastructure for AI-model training and inference, as well as cloud computing and other data services.[10]

Projects to install, modernize or expand data centres must qualify under the regime. Conditions address domestic capacity, research investment, energy sourcing, water efficiency and sustainability reporting. Data Center Dynamics reported on September 18 that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had signed the legislation, advancing tax incentives for Brazil’s digital infrastructure.[10][11]

Senate objections stall competing data-centre energy bills

On September 17, 2026, Senator Martin Heinrich objected to unanimous-consent passage of the Ratepayer Protection Act (H.R. 9340), which had passed the House the previous day. Senator Bernie Moreno then objected to Heinrich’s request to pass the competing GRID Savings Act (S. 5199).[12][13]

The dispute concerns who pays for electricity infrastructure serving AI data centres. The House-passed bill would require state regulators to consider cost-allocation standards; Heinrich argues that his alternative would directly require large electricity users to fund needed grid facilities. Both proposals remained pending after the objections.[13][12]

Trump announces planned AI Force and AI czar

On September 19, 2026, President Donald Trump announced plans for an AI Force and said he would name an AI czar soon. His statement emphasized supporting AI growth and using existing criminal and civil law to address harmful conduct. He compared the planned initiative with Space Force.[14]

CBS News reported the announcement amid industry calls to slow development.[15]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Buist et al. v. Anthropic PBC et al., No. 3:26-cv-10693 (N.D. Cal.), ECF 1, filed September 18, 2026, pp. 1–7, 25–29.
  2. ↑ Tyler Katzenberger and Christine Mui, Politico via Yahoo News, “Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI, Google sued over call to ‘pace’ AI development,” September 18, 2026 (September 19 UTC).
  3. ↑ UMG Recordings Inc. et al. v. Suno Inc., No. 1:26-cv-14275 (D. Mass.), ECF 1, filed September 18, 2026, pp. 1–2, 39–45.
  4. ↑ Music Business Worldwide, “Universal and Sony sue Suno for a second time,” September 18, 2026.
  5. ↑ Office of Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, “Krishnamoorthi and Cloud Introduce Bipartisan No FLOCK Act to Crack Down on Abuse of License Plate Readers,” September 15, 2026.
  6. ↑ H.R. 10366, 119th Congress, introduced September 14, 2026, introductory record and sections 1–2 (GovInfo).
  7. ↑ Edward Graham, Nextgov/FCW, “Tech bills of the week,” September 18, 2026.
  8. ↑ Massachusetts Governor’s Office, “Governor Healey Calls for Strong AI Safety and Transparency Protections in Mass Wins Act,” September 18, 2026.
  9. ↑ New Bedford Guide, “Massachusetts Gov. Healey to Lawmakers: Put AI Guardrails In Place Before A Crisis Forces Our Hand,” September 18, 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Presidency of Brazil, Law No. 15,504 of September 15, 2026, articles 1–2, including inserted articles 11-A and 11-B of Law No. 11,196/2005.
  11. ↑ Bruno Faria, Data Center Dynamics, “President Lula signs bill at the Planalto Palace,” September 18, 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Office of Senator Martin Heinrich, “Heinrich Offers His GRID Savings Act to Force AI Data Centers to Pay for Grid Upgrades,” September 17, 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 David Jordan, Roll Call, “Ratepayer bill aimed at data center buildout blocked in Senate,” September 17, 2026.
  14. ↑ Donald J. Trump, Truth Social statement, September 19, 2026, 1:12 p.m. EDT, status 117298821562014906; full text preserved by Trump’s Truth.
  15. ↑ Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, “Trump vows to form AI Force, says he won’t allow slowdown of AI development,” September 19, 2026.
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