Lankford, Coons, Britt, and Schatz Introduce Bipartisan AI Safety and Transparency Legislation

WASHINGTON, DC - US Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Coons (D-DE), Katie Britt (R-AL), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the AI Systems Transparency Act (ASTA), which would require AI companies to be more transparent with the public about what data their models are collecting from users, the safeguards they've put in place for children and adults, and the guardrails they've created to stop systems from going rogue or being used dangerously by bad actors.

Under ASTA, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would have the power to enforce these transparency requirements, while ensuring that companies can continue to grow and innovate.

"Trust has to be earned, and right now families are being asked to trust AI companies with very little information," said Lankford. "The AI Systems Transparency Act gives parents and consumers the straightforward answers on how these AI models are built and how they interact with America's children. Transparency on innovation earns the public's trust."

"AI is rapidly evolving in ways that are radically reshaping our society and transforming our world and how we interact with each other, and Americans are rightfully concerned about what AI companies and their government are doing to protect against worst case scenarios," said Coons. "Companies must not be allowed to hand wave away these doubts without meaningful disclosures, safeguards, and oversight in place. Americans deserve to know what they are actually doing to place safety guardrails on large AI models, and that's what this bipartisan bill will ensure."

"Americans are understandably concerned with the rapid development of AI, and they deserve straight answers. We know that this technology is not slowing down, which is why it's critical that AI companies provide transparency to both researchers and parents on how their systems work and address potential risks-especially risks related to America's youth. I'm proud to join my colleagues in this effort to provide the American people visibility into how these systems are built, tested, and secured," said Britt.

"Recent reports of security incidents with AI models make transparency and oversight all the more urgent. Our bill requires disclosures that help both consumers and evaluators understand both the capabilities of and risks posed by these models and what companies are doing to keep people safe," said Schatz.

Background

ASTA would apply to closed and open-source models. It would:

• Establish criteria for the size and scope of companies over which the FTC would gain jurisdiction.
• Require disclosure of information about structure and policies typically included on "model cards."
• Require disclosure of preventative safeguards used for child safety, mental health, privacy, cybersecurity, disaster risk, and autonomous loss-of-control.
• Require disclosure of information relating to common violations of policies.
• Require companies to update all disclosures with each new model or substantial updates to an existing model.
• Require both a consumer-facing disclosure and a disclosure that can be of use to independent researchers and evaluators.

The introduction of this bill builds upon letters that Sens. Lankford, Schatz, Britt, and Coons sent in December 2025 to OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Anthropic, Meta, Luka, Character.AI, and xAI, calling on these companies to improve transparency around the capabilities of their models and the risks they pose to users.

A one-pager on the bill is available HERE.

Read the full text of the bill HERE.

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