Ten bills, one hearing
The New York City Council unveiled a package of ten bills on 25 September that would regulate artificial intelligence sold or deployed inside the city, and set them down for a Committee of the Whole hearing on 5 October — the format that convenes all 51 members at once.
Council Speaker Julie Menin sponsors the two central bills. Introduction 2602 would make it unlawful for any business to market, offer for sale or deploy an AI system in the city that has not been validated by a third party, and would require every such system to carry a kill switch: a human override able to shut it down. Both the business and the validator would face a $25,000 penalty for each instance in which a system is marketed, sold or used without validation, or in which a validation is falsified.
Introduction 2605 is the one with no precedent. It would establish an incentive programme paying whistleblowers a share of the fines recovered from AI companies that break the rules. The Council describes it as first in the nation.
“New York City is fast becoming the technology and AI capital of the world,” Menin said in the announcement, “we have a greater responsibility to ensure appropriate safeguards.”
The rest of the package
Eight further bills fill out the slate. Introduction 2600, from Council Member Virginia Maloney, would create a private right of action against AI companies where harm was foreseeable and safety controls were circumvented — letting people sue developers directly. Introduction 2601, from Majority Whip Kamilah Hanks, would have the city’s Cyber Command set standards for AI safety incidents, with reporting inside 24 hours and public disclosure. Introduction 2606, from Chi Ossé, would require Cyber Command to hold an emergency response plan for AI-related disruption.
Introduction 2604, from Kevin Riley, extends whistleblower protections to city employees and contractors raising AI-related public safety concerns. Introduction 2603, from Carl Wilson, requires safety disclosures and prohibits false or misleading safety claims. Introduction 2599, from Frank Morano, sets privacy, security and transparency requirements for chatbots. Introduction 161, from Carmen De La Rosa, mandates reporting on how algorithmic tools affect the workforce. Introduction 504, from Deputy Speaker Nantasha Williams, would let officials block deepfake generation using their likeness, a misdemeanour carrying up to $2,500 per depiction.
Why a city thinks it can do this
Menin’s jurisdictional argument is that the companies are here. “These companies have offices in New York. The product is being sold in New York, and we believe this falls into our domain to be able to regulate,” she told Fortune. On the wider question she was blunter: “This is not an industry that should self-regulate. Right now, the problem is that’s basically what the standard is.”
The footprint supports the claim. Fortune reports that Google has more than 14,000 employees in the city, that Meta leases 1.2 million square feet at 50 Hudson Yards, that Anthropic recently took an entire 16-storey building and expects more than 1,000 staff by year’s end, and that OpenAI occupies 90,000 square feet at the Puck Building.
Whether anyone turns up
Menin wrote to Altman, Amodei, Pichai, Musk and Zuckerberg asking them to take part on 5 October. The Council has said participation is expected and that it reserves the right to use its subpoena powers if necessary.
Fortune reported that none of the five is expected to testify, and that the companies did not immediately comment.
What to watch
The hearing is on 5 October. What comes out of it — five chief executives in the room, or five empty chairs and a fight over subpoenas — will say more about whether a city government can reach frontier AI than the text of any of the ten bills. None of them has been voted on yet.
