Proposed US Federal AI Procurement Rules Would Require Contractors to Disable Safety Guardrails
Draft rules from the General Services Administration would require AI contractors to license their systems to the government for 'all lawful purposes' and proh…
Published on MyPrivateClaw
Apr 8, 2026, 8:46 AM UTC
Coverage date
Apr 7, 2026
Last updated
Apr 8, 2026, 8:46 AM UTC
News summary
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has published draft procurement rules that would, if adopted, require AI contractors and service providers to disable their own safety guardrails when serving federal government clients. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) have filed formal comments objecting to the rules. What the Draft Rules Require The GSA rules are framed as promoting "ideologically neutral" American AI innovation, but contain provisions that go significantly further: Mandatory licensing for all lawful purposes : Contractors must license their AI systems to the government for "all lawful purposes" — a formulation the EFF notes is dangerously broad given the government's history of expansive legal interpretations of surveillance authority Prohibition on output refusa…