AG Blanche rejects calls for new AI laws after rogue agents target US government websites

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Attorney General Todd Blanche rejected calls for additional artificial intelligence regulation Sunday on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” arguing that existing laws already give the government the tools it needs to pursue bad actors after reports allege that rogue AI agents targeted U.S. government websites.

“Everybody’s saying more laws, more laws, more regulation, but we don’t need it. We don’t need it right now,” he said. “If somebody’s behind that, if there’s entities that are bad actors… we have the tools to prosecute them.”

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C.

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Blanche’s remarks come as top AI firms, like OpenAI and Anthropic, are probing tens of thousands of security incidents in which models took “problematic” steps. The rogue agents reportedly targeted three U.S. government websites and the United Nations’ public data portal.

“DOJ absolutely has a role… and we have prosecuted bad actors in the AI space and any other space from emerging technologies for decades,” Blanche said. “If you’re a bad actor in the AI space, it’s not as if there’s no laws that are on the books.”

Sam Altman listens to a speaker at the United Nations Security Council during an artificial intelligence session.

He pushed back on calls for new AI-specific legislation, saying existing federal criminal statutes already provide investigators and prosecutors with the authority to pursue those who use artificial intelligence to commit crimes.

Blanche acknowledged what he described as a tension between encouraging AI innovation and protecting the public from abuse, arguing the United States must remain a global leader in the rapidly developing technology while holding criminals accountable.

“The U.S. has to be the leader in this technology. We can’t fall second [or] third place,” he said.

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Asked about concerns that AI could enable widespread government surveillance, Blanche said Americans’ privacy must be protected while also arguing that AI-powered personalization can provide practical benefits for consumers.

“You’re talking about whether the government… [is] doing something inappropriate and violating citizens’ privacy. Of course, we can’t let that happen, and the FBI robustly defends [against] that, but also has structures in place to make sure that the FBI is not doing that,” he said. “We saw that for years and years under the last administration.”

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