On July 28, 2026, the FCC added foreign-produced power inverters and advanced robotic devices to its Covered List, following determinations by an executive branch interagency body that they pose “unacceptable risks” to the national security of the United States. The new additions continue a string of decisions placing entire categories of foreign-produced devices on the Covered List of restricted equipment—beginning with the FCC’s December 2025 addition of all foreign-produced unmanned aircraft systems (a/k/a drones) and continuing with the March 2026 addition of all foreign-produced routers. The definitions of power inverters and advanced robotic devices are broad, seeming to reach inverters used in electrical systems such as commercial solar, battery, and wind-power projects, home solar and battery systems, and electric-vehicle chargers, and advanced robotic devices such as humanoid and quadruped robots, and robotic vacuums, pool cleaners, and lawn mowers.
Continue Reading FCC Restricts Imports of New Foreign-Produced Power Inverters and Advanced Robotic Devices with Additions to its Covered List
U.S. Tech Legislative & Regulatory Update – Second Quarter 2026
This update highlights key legislative and regulatory developments in the second quarter of 2026 related to artificial intelligence (“AI”), connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”), and Internet of Things (“IoT”).
Continue Reading U.S. Tech Legislative & Regulatory Update – Second Quarter 2026Illinois Enacts Frontier Model Safety Law
On July 6, 2026, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law SB 315, a frontier model safety act that resembles the New York RAISE Act, discussed in our prior blog post here, and California’s Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (TFAIA), discussed in our prior blog post here. The law takes effect January 1, 2027, with transparency-reporting and audit obligations beginning January 1, 2028. Similar to the New York and California laws, SB 315 will apply to frontier developers (i.e., persons that train, or initiate the training of, a frontier model using computing power greater than 10^26 integer or floating point operations), with certain provisions applicable only to large frontier developers (i.e., frontier developers with annual gross revenue over $500 million in the preceding year). SB 315 also includes public safety disclosure and reporting requirements. Notably, SB 315 also imposes a third-party audit requirement not found in either the New York or the California law.
Continue Reading Illinois Enacts Frontier Model Safety LawBacklash to Bipartisan AI Omnibus Illustrates Preemption Impasse
On June 4, Representatives Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Lori Trahan (D-MA) released a sweeping discussion draft of their Great American Artificial Intelligence Act. The latest bipartisan AI legislation quickly met bipartisan skepticism, particularly concerning the draft’s approach to federal preemption of state AI rules, with many House Democrats opposing the broad preemption for frontier model developers, while many House Republicans and other stakeholders lamented the bill’s omission of preemption for state laws reaching other parts of the AI ecosystem.
The bill would also establish mandatory disclosure and risk-mitigation requirements for frontier models and task the Center for Artificial Intelligence Standards and Innovation (CAISI) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with oversight of federal AI-related research and analysis, standards and guidelines development, and risk-mitigation activities.
Continue Reading Backlash to Bipartisan AI Omnibus Illustrates Preemption ImpasseConnecticut Passes Comprehensive AI Law
On May 1, the Connecticut legislature passed an artificial intelligence (“AI”) safety, transparency, and consumer protection bill (“SB 5”). While the Colorado legislature takes steps to streamline existing requirements for developers and deployers of AI systems, Connecticut has passed a multi-part framework that will impose requirements on large frontier developers
Continue Reading Connecticut Passes Comprehensive AI LawColorado Lawmakers Advance Bill to Replace Colorado AI Act
On May 7, the Colorado Senate passed SB 189, a bill that would repeal and replace the state’s Colorado AI Act enacted in 2024 and scheduled to take effect on June 30, 2026. If enacted, SB 189 would replace the current framework with a narrower statute focusing primarily on
Continue Reading Colorado Lawmakers Advance Bill to Replace Colorado AI ActSenate Judiciary Committee Advances GUARD Act Regulating Minor Use of AI
On April 30, 2026, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced S. 3062, the Guidelines for User Age-verification and Responsible Dialogue Act of 2025 (the “GUARD Act”), marking a significant development in federal efforts to regulate certain uses of artificial intelligence (AI) involving minors. The bill now awaits consideration by the full Senate.
Senators Hawley (R-MO) and Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the legislation in October 2025, and a bipartisan group of seventeen senators are cosponsors. The legislation focuses on regulating AI chatbots that are publicly available to consumers, with particular attention to the risks associated with use by minors under the age of eighteen.
Continue Reading Senate Judiciary Committee Advances GUARD Act Regulating Minor Use of AIU.S. Tech Legislative & Regulatory Update – First Quarter 2026
This update highlights key legislative and regulatory developments in the first quarter of 2026 related to artificial intelligence (“AI”), connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”), and Internet of Things (“IoT”).
I. Federal AI Legislative Developments
In the first quarter, members of Congress introduced several AI bills related to nonconsensual images, chatbots
Continue Reading U.S. Tech Legislative & Regulatory Update – First Quarter 2026FCC Issues Guidance Focused on Candidate Appearances on Talk Shows
On January 21, 2026, the FCC’s Media Bureau released a Public Notice providing new guidance on how it will evaluate whether broadcast television stations have triggered an obligation to provide “equal opportunities” to political candidates under Section 315 of the Communications Act.
The FCC’s equal opportunities rule generally says that if a station gives one legally qualified candidate free airtime, it usually has to offer comparable airtime to the other candidates running for the same office unless an exemption applies. To avoid discouraging general news coverage, Congress created several exemptions to this rule—one of the most commonly used being the exemption for bona fide news interviews. In its new guidance, the FCC signals a more restrictive view of the bona fide news exemption, particularly in the context of late‑night shows, daytime talk shows, and other hybrid news‑entertainment formats.
Continue Reading FCC Issues Guidance Focused on Candidate Appearances on Talk ShowsWashington State AI Task Force Releases AI Policy Recommendations for 2026
On December 1, the Washington State AI Task Force (“Task Force”) released its Interim Report with AI policy recommendations to the Governor and legislature. Established by the legislature in 2024, the Task Force is responsible for evaluating current and potential uses of AI in Washington and recommending regulatory and legislative
Continue Reading Washington State AI Task Force Releases AI Policy Recommendations for 2026