US Lawmakers Introduce AI Kill Switch Act With $100M Compute Threshold

According to Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), on Thursday (July 24) they introduced the bipartisan AI Kill Switch Act, which would authorize the Department of Homeland Security to order emergency shutdowns of advanced AI models. The bill covers AI systems trained with over $100 million in compute and operated by companies earning at least $500 million annually from AI, applying to OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, and similar firms.

HSD would set and update these thresholds within 90 days. Companies must report serious incidents within 15 days and maintain graduated shutdown controls. Violations carry fines up to $2 million daily; defying a shutdown order costs $20 million daily. The proposal exempts incidents occurring during authorized red-teaming and structured testing.