AI Law Wiki News for September 25, 2026

Appeals court upholds Pentagon exclusion of Anthropic under supply chain law

On September 25, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied Anthropic’s petitions challenging the Pentagon’s exclusion of Claude from its supply chain under 41 U.S.C. § 4713. The majority held that the department reasonably treated Anthropic’s ability to encode usage restrictions in Claude as a risk to military systems, and upheld the finding that less intrusive measures were not reasonably available. It rejected Anthropic’s due-process and First Amendment claims, reasoning that the department acted over disputed contract terms rather than the company’s public advocacy.

Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson dissented, arguing that the statute targets intentionally subversive interference and that Anthropic’s disclosed safeguards did not qualify. The majority distinguished an August 27 California district court ruling for Anthropic involving a narrower supply-chain definition under 10 U.S.C. § 3252. The two decisions concern different authorities and proceedings. Reuters reported the appellate outcome on September 25.

First published on the wiki September 25, 2026; edition date September 25, 2026; opinion issued September 25, 2026.

Bennet and Welch propose federal AI regulator with model preclearance

Senators Michael Bennet and Peter Welch announced a proposed AI Regulator Act on September 23 that would give a new Federal Digital Commission authority to review frontier AI models before public release, pause releases for up to six months when catastrophic risks lack safeguards, require incident reporting, and impose civil penalties of up to 15 percent of a firm's prior-year global revenue. The proposal builds on their earlier Digital Platform Commission plan and would require congressional action to become law. See United States policy on catastrophic AI risk for the broader federal debate.

First published on the wiki September 25, 2026; edition date September 25, 2026; proposal announced September 23, 2026.

Osborne calls for UK AI datacentres amid planning opposition

The Guardian reported that George Osborne, OpenAI's head of AI for countries and a former UK chancellor, argued at the Big Brue festival on September 20 that opposition to datacentres could leave the United Kingdom dependent on infrastructure built elsewhere. He linked domestic capacity to national control over AI technology while local opponents raised concerns about land, water, energy and housing. His remarks enter the continuing UK debate over datacentre planning and AI infrastructure. See United Kingdom AI Law for related policy context.

First published on the wiki September 25, 2026; edition date September 25, 2026; remarks delivered September 20, 2026.

Axios reports copyright agencies were surprised by DOJ filing

Axios reported on September 19 that, according to its sources, the U.S. Copyright Office and Patent and Trademark Office were surprised by the Justice Department’s statement of interest supporting OpenAI and Microsoft in the New York Times copyright litigation. The agencies declined Axios’s requests for comment, and the Justice Department did not respond. The report raises a coordination question about the government’s position in ongoing AI copyright litigation; it concerns the earlier filing, not a new court submission.

First published on the wiki September 25, 2026; edition date September 25, 2026; Axios report published September 19, 2026; underlying statement filed earlier.

Punjab Assembly committee examines AI use in public services

Dawn reported that Punjab Assembly Special Committee No. 13 began an inquiry on September 17 into AI and digital governance in provincial public services. The committee plans to examine the accuracy, human review, appeal options and data practices of an AI-assisted traffic-violation system. It will also investigate how welfare eligibility decisions are made through the Punjab Socioeconomic Registry, including whether AI is used in those decisions. The inquiry will examine safeguards for automated public-service decisions in Punjab.

First published on the wiki September 25, 2026; edition date September 25, 2026; inaugural committee meeting September 17, 2026.

Young asks NSC to convene recurring AI threat discussions

Senator Todd Young asked National Security Advisor Marco Rubio on September 24 to have the National Security Council convene recurring discussions with frontier-AI developers, cybersecurity specialists, researchers, federal officials and critical-infrastructure representatives. He called for the group to identify national-security risks, improve incident-reporting options and consider safeguards or targeted legislation. Young also requested that the administration brief the Senate Intelligence Committee on resulting findings where practicable. Semafor independently reported the letter and Young’s focus on AI-enabled threats to hospitals, electric grids and other infrastructure.

First published on the wiki September 25, 2026; edition date September 25, 2026; letter date September 24, 2026.

Senate panel hears AI-linked license-plate reader concerns

On September 23, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism held a hearing on Flock Safety and other networked license-plate readers that use AI-assisted searching. IAPP reported that senators and witnesses raised concerns about warrantless access, camera-network security and misuse of footage, while debating warrant rules and limits on federal support for such systems. The hearing adds congressional scrutiny to the debate over the separate proposed NO FLOCK Act, which would condition some federal highway funding on state restrictions on automated plate readers.

First published on the wiki September 25, 2026; edition date September 25, 2026; hearing held September 23, 2026; IAPP report published September 25, 2026.

UK competition regulator proposes AI assistants on search choice screens

On September 23, the UK Competition and Markets Authority opened a revised consultation on user-choice requirements for Google Search on Android and Chrome. The proposal would let eligible AI assistants appear among default-search options if they meet technical and security criteria, and would require listed services to attribute publisher content clearly. Users would be prompted when first using the device or browser and again each year.

The CMA is seeking comments by October 9 and expects to decide on the conduct requirement by the end of 2026. City AM reported that eligibility criteria are still being developed, so an AI assistant's inclusion is not assured. See United Kingdom AI Law for the UK policy context.

First published on the wiki September 25, 2026; edition date September 25, 2026; consultation opened September 23, 2026.