OpenAI backs stronger SB53 rules in California: kill switches, annual audits, cybersecurity

#What happened

• OpenAI urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to strengthen the state's AI safety rules in a letter dated Tuesday, October 21, signed by Chan Park, OpenAI's head of U.S. and Canada policy and partnerships. The letter was reported on October 22 via The Information.
• OpenAI said it "recommends strengthening SB 53," California's AI transparency law passed in 2025. The law currently requires frontier AI companies to publish safety frameworks and transparency reports, and to report major safety incidents.
• OpenAI supports mandatory kill switches (shutdown mechanisms) built into frontier AI models, mandatory annual independent audits, and stricter cybersecurity measures.
• OpenAI also supports requiring that safety frameworks explicitly cover the ability of frontier models to autonomously conduct AI research and development.

#Why it matters

• OpenAI publicly asking California to strengthen the rules that govern it is a notable shift: the company that would be regulated is calling for tougher requirements, including shutdown mechanisms and independent audits.
• SB 53 is already California's 2025 AI transparency law; strengthening it with kill switches, mandatory audits, and explicit coverage of autonomous AI R&D would raise the bar for frontier AI companies operating in the state.

Verified 2026-10-22