The White House's AI task force is urging federal regulators to give companies at least 12 months of relief from regulatory liability when they voluntarily report cyber vulnerabilities and incidents in good faith. The recommendation came in a statement on the task force's second meeting, held Thursday, Nov. 12, and is aimed at companies whose defenses are overwhelmed by AI-enabled cyberattacks.
Under the proposal, federal agencies would limit liability for good-faith, voluntary disclosures where doing so is lawful and practical. The flexibility would last at least 12 months and could be extended based on ongoing assessments of the risk.
The White House AI task force's statement is a recommendation, not an executive order or legislation, and agencies are not bound by it. No specific regulator has been named to offer the relief, and no timeline for adoption has been set.
Key facts
- 01The White House AI task force recommends at least 12 months of regulatory liability relief for good-faith cyber disclosures.
- 02The recommendation came out of the task force's second meeting, held Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.
- 03The relief could be extended beyond 12 months based on ongoing risk assessments.
- 04The task force backs long-term reauthorization of the 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act.
- 05Sean Cairncross and Emil Michael discussed a voluntary channel for companies to report AI-related incidents.
The relief as described applies to cyber vulnerabilities and incidents. The statement does not make clear whether safety failures in AI models or chatbots would fall under the same protection.
Business groups have complained about overlapping federal cyber rules, and a forthcoming incident-reporting rule from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency could add another layer. The task force said it supports that rulemaking and wants its requirements to be clear and practical.
The task force also called for a long-term reauthorization of the 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, which is due to expire soon. Extending that law would require action from Congress.
At the meeting, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross described the administration's work on security risks posed by AI models. The National Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology are testing frontier models with major AI labs.
Cairncross and Pentagon research official Emil Michael discussed a possible voluntary process for companies to report AI-related incidents to the government. Under that approach, the government would analyze the submissions and share defensive information back with industry.
Cairncross is also working with Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor on measures to strengthen infrastructure security, with a focus on small and medium-sized businesses.
The readout does not say whether the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency took part in the meeting. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the agency's involvement.
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