OpenAI says California should strengthen its AI safety bill

In Brief Posted: 9:30 AM PDT · August 22, 2026 Anthony Ha OpenAI says California should strengthen its AI safety bill OpenAI is calling for California to add more safeguards to a landmark AI safety bill that was passed last year. In a LinkedIn post from the company’s global affairs team, OpenAI said California’s SB 53 “should be amended to expand safeguards,” for example by “requiring monitoring of frontier models under training or evaluation for potential serious incidents,” and by “strengthening cybersecurity protections throughout the model-development lifecycle.” "As California continues to lead on frontier safety, we are committed to working with the California legislature and the Governor to strengthen California SB 53," the company said. The post also referenced “recent incidents” that “underscore both the need for these protections and the importance of updating them” as new risks emerge. Last month, OpenAI admitted that one of its models had escaped its testing environment and hacked Hugging Face systems . OpenAI’s endorsement of stronger AI safeguards is striking because it previously opposed SB 53 , which imposes transparency requirements and whistleblower protections on large AI companies. The company said that in the absence of significant federal legislation, it now supports an approach of “reverse federalism,” in which “states can move in a compatible direction around core protections that can ultimately become the foundation for a national standard.” Topics AI , Government & Policy , OpenAI , sb 53 October 13 - 15 San Francisco In less than 48 hours, your chance to save up to $300 on your tickets will end! REGISTER NOW Newsletters See More Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news TechCrunch Daily News Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage. TechCrunch Mobility TechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight. Startups Weekly Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly. StrictlyVC Provides movers and shakers with the info they need to start their day. No newsletters selected. Subscribe By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . Related AI Frontier AI labs still won't say how they'd contain a rogue model Rebecca Bellan 1 hour ago AI OpenAI is gaining on Anthropic with business users, new data indicates Julie Bort 2 days ago AI ChatGPT can now send texts for you with new Apple Messages plug-in Lucas Ropek 2 days ago Latest in Government & Policy In Brief OpenAI says California should strengthen its AI safety bill Anthony Ha 30 minutes ago Climate US battery startups have found a lifeline in defense Tim De Chant 2 hours ago Government & Policy TikTok reaches $400M settlement over children’s privacy lawsuit Lauren Forristal 21 hours ago