{"slug": "tech-bills-of-the-week-labeling-ai-generated-content-ai-standards-for-private", "title": "Tech bills of the week: Labeling AI-generated content; AI standards for private sector companies; and more", "summary": "A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced the AI Labeling Act of 2026, requiring visible and machine-readable labels on AI-generated content to prevent deception. Rep. Zoe Lofgren proposed a voluntary AI disclosure pilot program at NIST, while Reps. Josh Gottheimer and John Moolenaar introduced the Cloud Security Act to close a loophole in AI chip export controls.", "body_md": "# Tech bills of the week: Labeling AI-generated content; AI standards for private sector companies; and more\n\n## This week’s proposals include a measure to create a reporting process for dangerous AI systems and legislation to collect data on AI’s impact on the U.S. workforce.\n\n**Discerning AI-made content**\n\nSens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, John Curtis, R-Utah, and Mark Warner, D-Va., [introduced](https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/schatz-curtis-warner-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-provide-more-transparency-on-ai-generated-content) a measure Thursday seeking to clarify when people are interacting with artificial intelligence, including directing providers of generative AI systems to label their content.\n\n[The AI Labeling Act of 2026](https://www.schatz.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/ai_labeling_act_2026.pdf) requires both “visible and machine-readable” labels that identify AI-generated digital content, covering imagery, videos, audio and chatbot interactions.\n\n“People deserve to know whether the videos, photos, and content they see and read online are real or not,” Schatz said in a statement. “Our bill is simple — if any digital content is made by AI, it should be labeled so that people are aware and aren’t fooled or scammed.”\n\nBeyond labeling AI-made content, the proposal would also require that major AI developers and owners of social media platforms work together to verify the authenticity of content. The bill would also establish an intersectoral Consumer Transparency Working Group to create universal technical standards for users and platforms to effectively identify AI-generated content.\n\nExceptions included in the bill cover AI-generated content created for internal use and research purposes that is not intended for public consumption.\n\n“As AI-generated content becomes more refined and realistic, people deserve to know whether what they’re seeing is created by a human or generated by artificial intelligence,” Curtis said. “Our bipartisan AI Labeling Act establishes clear, commonsense transparency standards that help consumers make informed decisions, promote trust in digital content, and discourage bad actors from using AI to deceive the public.”\n\n**Evaluating a voluntary AI disclosure approach**\n\nRep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., [introduced](https://lofgren.house.gov/media/press-releases/lofgren-introduces-legislation-aimed-improving-ai-labeling-practices) a bill that would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create a pilot program to evaluate how and when private sector entities should disclose to users that they are interacting with an AI system.\n\nThe Voluntary Consumer AI Disclosure Pilot Act calls for NIST to examine discretionary steps that can be taken to provide these disclosures, although it [notably](https://lofgren.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/lofgren-evo.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/26.06.22_vcadpa_onepager.pdf) would not require a mandatory AI labeling mandate.\n\n\"There are circumstances where Americans should know when they are interacting with an AI system rather than a human,” Lofgren said in a statement. \"But disclosures should be clear, useful, and appropriate for the product or service — not one-size-fits-all labels that individuals ignore or misunderstand. This legislation will bring together experts to evaluate how voluntary disclosures can best advance consumer safety, transparency, and trust.\"\n\n**Preventing AI chip access via cloud computing**\n\nA pair of bipartisan House lawmakers [introduced](https://gottheimer.house.gov/posts/release-gottheimer-moolenaar-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-close-loophole-in-advanced-ai-chip-export-controls) a bill on Friday that seeks to close a loophole in U.S. export controls that allows advanced semiconductor chips to be rented to adversarial nations.\n\nThe Cloud Security Act, introduced by Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and John Moolenaar, R-Mich., targets a clause in U.S. export controls that allow adversaries to rent access to an AI-specific computing chip from cloud computing providers. Companies that would be covered by the measure include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.\n\nCovered cloud computing providers would also be directed to voluntarily report suspected misuse of their services by customers with potential links to U.S. adversaries.\n\n“In the AI race, China will buy what it can and steal the rest, which is why it is actively trying to get backdoor access to U.S. data centers and train its AI models via cloud computing,” Moolenaar, who chairs the House China Select Committee, said in a statement. “U.S. cloud platforms have a role to play in stopping China’s AI buildup, which fuels its military and surveillance ambitions. This bipartisan commonsense legislation will require them to protect their products and American national security by simply verifying the identity of their users.”\n\nA similar bill, known as the [Remote Access Security Act](https://www.mccormick.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-mccormick-and-wyden-introduces-remote-access-security-act-to-extend-export-controls-for-critical-technology-access-through-cloud-services/), was introduced in 2025 by Sens. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.\n\n**Safeguarding children from AI chatbot risks**\n\nSens. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., [introduced](https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/curtis-schiff-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-protect-children-from-ai-chatbot-risks/) a proposal on Tuesday to create a federal framework for protecting children from the potential risks posed by AI chatbots.\n\nThe Safeguarding AI Features to Ensure Kids’ Informed Digital Safety — or SAFE KIDS — Act [calls for chatbot developers](https://www.curtis.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/One-Pagers2.pdf) to “prioritize child safety, privacy, and parental empowerment” in the use of these tools by assessing their potential risks, prohibiting harmful interactions or content, empowering parental oversight and conducting annual assessments.\n\n“The SAFE KIDS Act puts commonsense guardrails in place to protect children online while preserving American leadership in innovation,” Curtis said in a statement. “We need clear standards for transparency, accountability, and child safety so families can navigate the opportunities and risks of emerging technologies with confidence.”\n\n**Collecting data on AI’s impact on U.S. workers**\n\nRep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., [introduced](https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=413424) legislation on Monday that seeks to require the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect data on AI’s use in the workforce, with a focus on using the information to track how the technologies are impacting American workers.\n\n[The AWARE Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9381/text?s=2&r=56&hl=artificial+intelligence) would amend the 1913 law that created the Labor Department to add a provision to “include full and complete statistics on the usage of artificial intelligence in such conditions of labor and such products and distribution.”\n\n“Artificial intelligence is transforming workplaces across the country faster than any technology in a generation,” Walberg said in a statement. “To keep pace, we must have reliable insight into how these technologies are affecting jobs, skills, and workforce needs. The AWARE Act provides the clarity necessary to support workers, guide training and education efforts, and ensure the United States remains at the forefront of innovation.”\n\n**Reporting dangerous AI systems**\n\nLegislation [introduced](https://moran.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2785) by Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, on Thursday would establish a federal framework for AI developers to report “dangerous capabilities, security breaches, and safety incidents” to the Commerce Department.\n\nThe agency would also be directed to designate which types of AI models meet certain “capability thresholds” when it comes to posing significant public safety or national security risks. Developers of these models would have to file reports to Commerce within seven days of identifying any potentially harmful activity. The agency would be required to notify congressional leadership and relevant committee leaders of serious threats or “evidence that a model can autonomously improve itself” within 48 hours.\n\n“AI is a powerful engine of innovation, and I want to see it flourish, but not without accountability and not without human oversight,” Moran said in a statement. “The rule of law should apply to this new frontier. This legislation ensures that when something goes wrong with a high-capability AI system, the U.S. Government has the information needed to act quickly.”\n\n**Winding down law enforcement use of Chinese-made drones**\n\nRep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., [introduced](https://harrigan.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-pat-harrigan-introduces-american-drone-manufacturing-act) legislation on Thursday that would condition certain federal grants for U.S. law enforcement agencies on them phasing out their uses of Chinese-made drones.\n\nReps. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., and Pat Fallon, R-Texas, are co-sponsoring the measure.\n\nBeginning in fiscal year 2027, the [American Drone Manufacturing Act](https://barrett.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/barrett.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/american_drone_manufacturing_dominance_act_text.pdf) would require covered policing entities to certify that they will not acquire any Chinese or adversary-made drones within one year and to cease operating any of the covered unmanned aerial systems within five years. The measure would also create a buyback program run by the Justice Department to help law enforcement agencies acquire drones made by U.S. or allied nations.\n\nThe Commerce Department would also be directed to establish a grant program “to support the construction, expansion, or modernization of facilities in the United States for the manufacturing of unmanned aircraft systems and related components.”\n\n\"My bill helps law enforcement replace insecure foreign-made systems, invests in American manufacturing, and strengthens the industrial base we'll need to compete and win in the years ahead,” Harrigan said in a statement. “If drones are going to define the future of warfare, public safety, and critical infrastructure, those drones should be built in America, not Beijing.\"\n\n**Corporate education investment to help with AI training**\n\nReps. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., rolled out legislation on Wednesday that would incentivize private sector investments in community colleges and public universities to help American workers gain the skills they need to succeed in AI-dominated job markets.\n\nTheir [measure](https://liccardo.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-liccardo-introduces-skill-act-prepare-workers-ai-driven-job-market-shifts), known as the Supporting Knowledge Through Industry-Led Learning — or SKILL — Act, would award tax credits to companies that invest in workforce development programs at local public higher-education bodies to create, in part, “curriculum for reskilling and upskilling, including registered apprenticeships.”\n\nThe bill would authorize $500 million in tax credit authority to states on an annual basis, and would provide employers with a $2,500 tax credit for every student who successfully completes one of the programs. The companies could also receive an additional $2,500 tax credit for each program graduate that they hire.\n\n“We can’t know what skills workers will need a decade from now, but we can be certain that our private sector employers will know before we do,” Liccardo said in a statement. “When we incentivize companies to build the talent pipelines they need, we help more workers land good-paying, in-demand jobs. The SKILL Act turns disruption into opportunity: companies can build their workforce, and more Americans find a path to better jobs — and an economic future — in an AI-driven economy.”", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/tech-bills-of-the-week-labeling-ai-generated-content-ai-standards-for-private", "canonical_source": "https://www.nextgov.com/policy/2026/06/tech-bills-week-labeling-ai-generated-content-ai-standards-private-sector-companies-and-more/414480/", "published_at": "2026-06-26 20:43:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-26 21:12:05.581508+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-safety", "ai-ethics"], "entities": ["Brian Schatz", "John Curtis", "Mark Warner", "Zoe Lofgren", "Josh Gottheimer", "John Moolenaar", "National Institute of Standards and Technology"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/tech-bills-of-the-week-labeling-ai-generated-content-ai-standards-for-private", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/tech-bills-of-the-week-labeling-ai-generated-content-ai-standards-for-private.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/tech-bills-of-the-week-labeling-ai-generated-content-ai-standards-for-private.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/tech-bills-of-the-week-labeling-ai-generated-content-ai-standards-for-private.jsonld"}}