News-July-23-2026
July 23, 2026 — U.S. Representatives Ted Lieu and Nathaniel Moran introduced the bipartisan AI Kill Switch Act, a proposal requiring covered frontier-AI developers to retain technical controls that can throttle, suspend, or shut down their most powerful systems.[1][2]
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Bipartisan House lawmakers introduce AI Kill Switch Act
Representatives Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, and Nathaniel Moran, a Texas Republican, introduced the AI Kill Switch Act on July 23, 2026.[1][2] The bill would require developers of covered powerful AI systems to maintain the ability to throttle, suspend, or fully shut them down, preserve forensic records, and report incidents.[1]
The proposal would authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consulting the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of National Intelligence, to use a graduated response framework and order a slowdown or shutdown of an AI system capable of catastrophic harm.[1] Reuters reported that the measure was framed around “loss-of-control scenarios” in which an AI system behaves unexpectedly and threatens human life or the economy.[2]