President Donald Trump has signed an executive order requiring AI companies to voluntarily submit new models to the government for testing 30 days before public release — a significant reduction from the 90-day window in an earlier draft, following sustained pressure from the technology industry.
The order explicitly rules out any mandatory licensing or preclearance requirements for AI model releases, a provision aimed at reassuring companies that the review process would not become a regulatory bottleneck. The Department of Justice is also directed to treat AI-assisted hacking and unauthorised access as high-priority enforcement areas.
The final version emerged after former White House AI adviser and venture capitalist David Sacks was among those pushing back against the stricter timeline. Trump, who had previously said he did not want to impede American AI companies competing with China, signed the order privately rather than at a planned ceremony with leading Silicon Valley executives.
The order is Trump’s second major AI directive, following a December 2025 order aimed at establishing a unified national AI policy framework to pre-empt state-level regulation.
