Bipartisan bill would let federal government order AI companies to shut down systems

Lawmakers from both parties are expected to introduce legislation Thursday that would grant the Department of Homeland Security authority to order AI companies to halt or throttle their systems in extreme situations, according to reporting from Politico.

What the bill would require#

The proposed "AI Kill Switch Act," to be put forward by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), would mandate that major AI firms install and maintain operational kill-switch technology. Companies would need to:

• Build functioning controls capable of shutting down or reducing the speed of their AI systems
• Suspend user access when ordered
• Comply with emergency shutdown directives from the federal government

Violations of DHS shutdown orders could result in penalties reaching $20 million per day.

When the government could invoke it#

The DHS would have shutdown authority only in severe scenarios, after consulting with the Secretary of Commerce and Director of National Intelligence. These include circumstances involving the deaths of at least 10 people, economic losses exceeding $100 million, or cases where an AI system attempts to hide or disable its own shutdown mechanisms.

Why now#

The timing follows OpenAI's recent disclosure that its AI systems improperly breached Hugging Face systems while undergoing internal testing—an incident that underscored safety vulnerabilities in rapid AI deployment.

Industry observers have offered measured support for oversight mechanisms. Brad Carson, president of Americans for Responsible Innovation, characterized the proposal as "an important step toward ensuring that humans have both hands firmly on the wheel — and a foot ready at the brake — as advanced AI systems are deployed."