U.S. Senator James Lankford is working with three other senators on bipartisan legislation that would require artificial intelligence companies to disclose more information about their models, user data collection and safety measures.
The AI Systems Transparency Act would require disclosures about safeguards addressing child safety, mental health, privacy, cybersecurity and the risk of systems operating beyond human control. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the requirements.
“Trust has to be earned, and right now families are being asked to trust AI companies with very little information,” Lankford said. “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.”
The Oklahoma senator introduced the measure with Senators Chris Coons of Delaware, Katie Britt of Alabama and Brian Schatz of Hawaii.
The bill would apply to both closed and open-source models, with criteria determining which companies fall under FTC oversight. Companies would provide disclosures for consumers and separate information useful to independent researchers and evaluators.
Disclosures would include information about model structure, company policies, safety safeguards and common policy violations. Companies would be required to update that information when releasing a new model or making substantial changes to an existing one.
The legislation follows letters the four senators sent to eight AI companies in December 2025 seeking greater transparency about their models’ capabilities and risks to users.
