Story perspectives

Lawmakers Push AI Developer Liability, DOJ Intervention Urged

By Drooid · Oct 11, 2026, 6:30 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump urged the Justice Department to intervene when AI models misbehave.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and former White House AI czar David Sacks called for liability laws on AI developers.
Senators Josh Hawley and Chris Murphy introduced a bill amending the CFAA to impose developer liability.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei advocated mandatory pre-deployment testing, shifting safety duties to government.

History

Historical Context

When the EU’s GDPR took effect on 25 May 2018, it gave regulators the power to levy fines up to 4 % of global turnover, exemplified by the €50 million penalty against Google in 2019. That enforcement model spread worldwide and now underpins Senators Josh Hawley and Chris Murphy’s 2024 bill to amend the CFAA, which would impose similar multi-billion-dollar damages on AI developers.

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Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump urged the Justice Department to intervene when AI models misbehave.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and former White House AI czar David Sacks called for liability laws on AI developers.
Senators Josh Hawley and Chris Murphy introduced a bill amending the CFAA to impose developer liability.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei advocated mandatory pre-deployment testing, shifting safety duties to government.

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