Senators Take Aim At Trump’s AI Honor System With Bill That Could Haul Tech Giants Into Court

A bipartisan pair of senators is pushing back on President Donald Trump’s plan to let tech companies police their own artificial intelligence.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut announced a bill that would expose AI agent operators and developers to criminal and civil penalties when their agents hack into other systems, according to the senators’ Thursday joint announcement. The measure would apply the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) to hacking damage caused by AI agents and to developers that fail to take precautions, which is a direct challenge to the president’s voluntary safety pledge with tech leaders.

“These AI agents are committing cyberattacks. If Big Tech companies are going to design AI agents that wreak havoc, these companies better be on the hook for any damage that is caused,” Hawley said a Thursday press release from his office. “With this liability regime in place, AI companies will have every incentive to keep their products safe.”

Beyond private liability, the legislation would let both the U.S. attorney general and state attorneys general file suit to stop companies that carry out or attempt to carry out AI agent hacks, the press release stated.