Artificial Intelligence

'AI Kill Switch Act' Won't Stop Rogue AI, but It Will Slow Down Innovation

A bipartisan bill would give the Department of Homeland Security sweeping power to shut down powerful AI systems, with serious costs for competition and security.

Reem Ibrahim | 7.27.2026 3:10 PM

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The federal government has increasingly tried to control America's burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) sector, from proposing moratoriums on data centers to taking ownership stakes in tech firms. Now it wants to create a mandatory AI kill switch.

Last week, Reps. Ted Lieu (D–Calif.) and Nathaniel Moran (R–Texas) introduced the AI Kill Switch Act, which would require companies developing powerful AI systems to maintain the technical ability to restrict access to, throttle, suspend, or completely shut down their models. The bill would also allow the secretary of Homeland Security to order an AI company to limit or disable a system. Violations could result in fines of up to $2 million per day, rising to $20 million per day for violating an emergency order.

"We are moving from AI that answers questions to AI that takes actions….It is imperative that these AI systems have kill switches so we can keep this technology from causing catastrophic harm, and that the federal government has the clear authority and process to shut down rogue AI models," Lieu said in a press release.

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