News-July-09-2026
July 09, 2026 — CNBC reported that AI-industry political committees are spending heavily in the 2026 midterm elections as Congress debates national AI legislation and federal preemption of state AI laws, Google announced expanded AI-ad disclosure tools for Search, YouTube, and Discover, and the Associated Press reported that news organizations asked a federal judge to sanction OpenAI in a copyright dispute.[1][2][3]
Contents
[edit]- AI political committees push to shape federal AI legislation
- Google expands AI ad disclosures across Search, YouTube, and Discover
- News outlets seek sanctions against OpenAI in copyright fight
AI political committees push to shape federal AI legislation
[edit]CNBC reported that AI executives and companies are spending in the 2026 midterm elections to influence AI bills being developed in Congress.[1] CNBC's analysis of Federal Election Commission data found that the two largest AI political action committees had spent at least $44 million across 40 House and Senate candidates by the end of June 2026.[1] CNBC reported that the groups have raised more than $200 million for primary-season and general-election spending.[1]
The report identified Leading the Future and Public First Action as the major AI political groups and said both support some AI guardrails while differing on the role of state laws and federal preemption.[1] CNBC reported that Leading the Future supports a broad national framework for AI regulation, while Public First Action has supported state laws and opposed efforts to preempt them unless Congress adopts a comprehensive federal approach.[1] CNBC also reported that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said state AI laws are "hurting innovation" and that overriding them would be a foundation of congressional action.[1]
The story is significant for AI law because it links campaign finance, congressional AI legislation, and the unresolved question of whether federal law should displace state-level AI regulation.[1]
Google expands AI ad disclosures across Search, YouTube, and Discover
[edit]Google announced that users can open the My Ad Center menu on Search, YouTube, and Discover to see a "How this ad was made" notice identifying ads created or edited with AI.[2] Google said ads made with its own generative AI advertising tools will be labeled automatically in My Ad Center.[2] Google said advertisers can also use a manual control to label ads created with other AI tools.[2] Google said an AI label may appear directly on ads in markets where local requirements call for that disclosure.[2]
The update is significant for AI law because it operationalizes AI-content transparency in a major advertising platform and connects voluntary platform labeling to jurisdiction-specific disclosure requirements.[2]
News outlets seek sanctions against OpenAI in copyright fight
[edit]The Associated Press reported that The New York Times, the Daily News, and other media outlets asked a federal judge to impose sanctions on OpenAI in a copyright case over artificial intelligence training and news content.[3] The AP reported that the newspapers allege OpenAI hid evidence by deleting user search data that had been preserved for the litigation.[3] The AP reported that OpenAI said the deletion was accidental and that the company had recovered a substantial amount of the affected data.[3]
The sanctions request is significant for AI law because discovery-preservation disputes can affect the factual record in copyright cases testing whether AI training and output practices infringe publishers' rights.[3]
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 CNBC, "What AI companies want for the millions they're spending on elections" (July 9, 2026).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Google, "Expanding AI transparency in ads" (July 9, 2026).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 AP News, "News outlets ask judge to sanction OpenAI in copyright fight" (July 9, 2026).