News-August-13-2026

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. California appropriators also advanced a proposal for an AI standards and safety commission while holding a copyright-training-data disclosure bill in committee.

Contents

1. Flock adds privacy and police-accountability controls
2. India's Supreme Court sends government-AI safeguards for policy review
3. California gives final approval to human-instructor requirement
4. 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. Officers seeking longer retention will be prompted to provide a criminal case number.

The company also said it would fully deploy Audit Assistance, a system intended to lock out users whose searches show abnormal activity. 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.

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. The bench comprised Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

The amended bill would establish a California Artificial Intelligence Standards and Safety Commission to study and recommend AI safety standards and related state policy.

The Senate Appropriations Committee held AB 412 under submission on August 13, stopping its progress at the suspense-file stage. 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.