Editing News-August-13-2026

{{DISPLAYTITLE:August 13, 2026 AI Law Digest}}
'''August 13, 2026''' — Flock Safety announced tighter safeguards for its automated license-plate-reader network after reported police misuse, India's Supreme Court sent proposals for binding ethics and transparency rules for government AI systems to the Union government for policy consideration, and California lawmakers gave final legislative approval to a bill requiring California State University instructors of record to be people.<ref name="nbc-flock">[https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/flock-safety-police-abuse-oversight-data-retention-rcna592217 NBC News, “Surveillance company Flock moves to increase oversight after police misuse,” August 13, 2026]</ref><ref name="flock-guardrails">[https://www.flocksafety.com/blog/flock-guardrails-address-lpr-privacy-concerns-and-police-transparency Flock Safety, “Flock Guardrails Address LPR Privacy Concerns and Police Transparency,” August 13, 2026]</ref><ref name="kashmir-ai">[https://kashmirobserver.net/2026/08/13/sc-asks-centre-to-consider-ai-regulation-suggestions/ Kashmir Observer, “SC Asks Centre To Consider AI Regulation Suggestions,” August 13, 2026]</ref><ref name="lawtrend-ai">[https://lawtrend.in/supreme-court-directs-government-to-consider-ethical-guidelines-for-state-artificial-intelligence-deployment/ Law Trend, “Supreme Court Directs Government To Consider Ethical Guidelines For State Artificial Intelligence Deployment,” August 13, 2026]</ref><ref name="ca-sb928-history">[https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billHistoryClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB928 California Legislative Information, “SB 928 Bill History,” accessed August 14, 2026]</ref><ref name="tcai-aug14">[https://www.transparencycoalition.ai/news/ai-legislative-update-august14-2026 Transparency Coalition, “AI Legislative Update: August 14, 2026,” August 14, 2026]</ref> California appropriators also advanced a proposal for an AI standards and safety commission while holding a copyright-training-data disclosure bill in committee.<ref name="ca-sb813-history">[https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billHistoryClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB813 California Legislative Information, “SB 813 Bill History,” accessed August 15, 2026]</ref><ref name="ca-ab412-history">[https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billHistoryClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB412 California Legislative Information, “AB 412 Bill History,” accessed August 15, 2026]</ref>

== Contents ==
# [[#Flock adds privacy and police-accountability controls|Flock adds privacy and police-accountability controls]]
# [[#India's Supreme Court sends government-AI safeguards for policy review|India's Supreme Court sends government-AI safeguards for policy review]]
# [[#California gives final approval to human-instructor requirement|California gives final approval to human-instructor requirement]]
# [[#California suspense vote advances AI safety commission and stalls copyright disclosure bill|California suspense vote advances AI safety commission and stalls copyright disclosure bill]]

== Flock adds privacy and police-accountability controls ==
Flock Safety said it would reduce the default retention period for vehicle-movement data from 30 days to seven days.<ref name="nbc-flock" /><ref name="flock-guardrails" /> Officers seeking longer retention will be prompted to provide a criminal case number.<ref name="nbc-flock" /><ref name="flock-guardrails" />

The company also said it would fully deploy Audit Assistance, a system intended to lock out users whose searches show abnormal activity.<ref name="nbc-flock" /><ref name="flock-guardrails" /> Flock described the measures as responses to privacy concerns and officer abuse, while the American Civil Liberties Union said the changes did not resolve its broader concern about mass collection of license-plate data involving people not suspected of wrongdoing.<ref name="nbc-flock" />

== India's Supreme Court sends government-AI safeguards for policy review ==
India's Supreme Court disposed of a public-interest petition without deciding its merits and directed that the petition be treated as a representation for the Union government to consider when evaluating AI policy measures.<ref name="kashmir-ai" /><ref name="lawtrend-ai" /> The bench comprised Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.<ref name="kashmir-ai" /><ref name="lawtrend-ai" />

The court said regulation of AI is a highly technical issue within the policy domain and that judges lacked the specialized expertise to design an operational framework.<ref name="kashmir-ai" /><ref name="lawtrend-ai" /> Advocate Narendra Kumar Goswami's petition sought disclosure of high-risk AI systems used in welfare, policing, surveillance, and content regulation, along with binding ethics standards, algorithmic-impact assessments, bias audits, human oversight, data-protection safeguards, and comprehensive legislation governing state use of AI.<ref name="kashmir-ai" /><ref name="lawtrend-ai" />

== California gives final approval to human-instructor requirement ==
The California Assembly passed SB 928 on August 13, 2026, and the Senate ordered the measure engrossed and enrolled that day.<ref name="ca-sb928-history" /><ref name="tcai-aug14" />

The bill would require each California State University instructor of record and faculty employee to be a person meeting the trustees' applicable employment rules, while allowing university employees to use AI tools in operations and student services.<ref name="ca-sb928-text">[https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB928 California Legislative Information, “SB 928 Bill Text,” accessed August 14, 2026]</ref>

== California suspense vote advances AI safety commission and stalls copyright disclosure bill ==
California’s Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 11–3 on August 13 to advance SB 813 as amended and re-refer it to the Rules Committee.<ref name="ca-sb813-history" /><ref name="tcai-aug14" />

The amended bill would establish a California Artificial Intelligence Standards and Safety Commission to study and recommend AI safety standards and related state policy.<ref name="ca-sb813-text">[https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB813 California Legislative Information, “SB 813 Bill Text,” amended August 13, 2026]</ref>

The Senate Appropriations Committee held AB 412 under submission on August 13, stopping its progress at the suspense-file stage.<ref name="ca-ab412-history" /><ref name="tcai-aug14" /> The bill would have required generative-AI developers to document covered copyrighted training materials and provide a mechanism for rights holders to request information about use of their works.<ref name="ca-ab412-text">[https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB412 California Legislative Information, “AB 412 Bill Text,” amended June 30, 2026]</ref>

== References ==
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[[Category:Data Privacy]]
[[Category:International]]
[[Category:Transparency]]
[[Category:State Legislation]]
[[Category:California]]
[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Employment]]
[[Category:Copyright Law]]