AI Law Wiki News for May 19, 2026

May 19, 2026 — A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., heard Anthropic's challenge to a Defense Department supply-chain-risk designation that restricts military contractors from using Claude models, Illinois lawmakers moved forward with frontier-model safety legislation backed by OpenAI and Anthropic, AP reported that a federal court rejected Elon Musk's trial claims against OpenAI and its executives, and the FTC began enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act's notice-and-removal rule for nonconsensual intimate imagery.

Contents

1. Anthropic Defense Department blacklist arguments
2. Illinois frontier AI safety bill negotiations
3. Musk v. OpenAI verdict
4. FTC begins enforcing TAKE IT DOWN Act

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Anthropic Defense Department blacklist arguments

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., was set to hear argument on May 19, 2026, in Anthropic's lawsuit over its blacklisting by the Department of Defense. CNBC reported that the Department of Justice, representing the Defense Department, and Anthropic each received 15 minutes before a three-judge panel of Judges Karen Henderson, Gregory Katsas, and Neomi Rao, which will take the matter under advisement and issue a written opinion. The dispute stems from the Defense Department's March 2026 declaration that Anthropic was a supply-chain risk, a label CNBC reported has historically been reserved for foreign adversaries and requires defense contractors to certify they will not use Anthropic's Claude models in military work. Anthropic argues that the designation is unlawful and unsupported, while the government argues that Anthropic's ability to encode model limitations creates an untenable national-security risk. The appellate proceeding is separate from Anthropic's San Francisco litigation, where a preliminary injunction allowed federal agencies other than the Defense Department to use Anthropic's models while the litigation continues.

See also: Anthropic PBC v. U.S. Department of Defense

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Illinois frontier AI safety bill negotiations

Illinois lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 315 as the central bill in an eight-bill artificial-intelligence package, and Capitol News Illinois reported that the proposal would require companies with more than $500 million in annual gross revenue to disclose safety frameworks, assess and report catastrophic risks, and report AI-related safety incidents. Capitol News Illinois reported that OpenAI vice president of global policy Ann O'Leary said the company supports Illinois lawmakers' effort to advance frontier AI safety through SB 315, while Anthropic lobbyist James Hartmann told the Senate Executive Committee that Anthropic also supports the bill. Transformer reported that OpenAI's Caitlin Niedermeyer submitted written testimony saying OpenAI does not support the liability safe harbor in Illinois SB 3444, after OpenAI's earlier support for SB 3444 drew criticism because that bill would limit liability for frontier-model developers that publish specified safety and transparency materials. The Illinois General Assembly's bill-status page for SB 3444 describes the measure as creating an Artificial Intelligence Safety Act and states that the Senate extended the committee and third-reading deadline to May 22, 2026.

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Musk v. OpenAI verdict

AP News reported that a federal court dismissed Elon Musk's claims against OpenAI, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and other OpenAI executives after a trial over Musk's allegations that OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit mission. AP reported that the jury found Musk waited too long to sue and missed the statute-of-limitations deadline. AP reported that Musk had invested $38 million in OpenAI's early years and accused Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman of shifting the company toward a money-making model behind his back. AP reported that OpenAI argued Musk had sought near-total control of the company before leaving in 2018 and later sought to undermine a former ally after OpenAI and Microsoft built a high-profile partnership.

See also: Musk v. Altman

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FTC begins enforcing TAKE IT DOWN Act

The Federal Trade Commission began enforcing Section 3 of the TAKE IT DOWN Act on May 19, 2026, opening a complaint channel for alleged platform failures to remove nonconsensual intimate imagery at victims' request. The FTC said covered platforms must remove reported intimate photos or videos and known identical copies within 48 hours of a valid request.

FTC business guidance states that the law covers both real intimate images and "digital forgeries" created or altered using software, apps, or artificial intelligence, and warns that violations may trigger FTC enforcement actions and civil penalties of $53,088 per violation. AP previously reported that the statute criminalizes publication of intimate images without a person's consent, including AI-created deepfakes, while also requiring platforms to remove covered material within 48 hours of victim notice.