Administration Issues New Executive Order on Science and Research
May 28, 2025. President Trump has issued a new order entitled "Restoring Gold Standard Science," mandating changes in the way science and data are done and managed in the federal government and in government supported research and development. In his first term, similar policies issued in during the Trump administration by HHS and EPA caused particular concerns in areas of healthcare, the environment, and related work in a variety of areas for a variety of reasons, including issues of patient confidentiality and other issues.
   Read Executive Order 14303 of May 23, 2025, "Restoring Gold Standard Science."

New York Growers Sue USDA for Purging Climate Change Information from Agency Website
A nonprofit organization of growers that works to develop a regional sustainable food production and marketing system based in Binghamton, New York, joined by two environmental advocacy organizations, has filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture's removal of climate change related material from its websites which, in turn, also were interconnected with other key data and program information on farming needed by growers. The complaint charges that the USDA's action violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and the Paperwork Reduction Act. For more information and documents, see the Sustainable Development page of this website.

Federal Judge Issues Restraining Order on DOGE Access to Treasury Computer System
February 10, 2025. U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York issued an emergency order on Saturday, blocking Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) personnel from accessing a key Treasury Department computer system containing large quantities of sensitive data about individuals and organizations and to destroy any materials they had downloaded from that system. A number of state attorneys general had already complained about the administration's actions, but the administration stated that its people had read-only access to the material. The plaintiffs charged that in itself that was a violation of several provisions of law.
   Judge Engelmayer ordered in part that: "defendants are (i) restrained from granting access to any Treasury Department payment record, payment systems, or any other data systems maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information and/or confidential financial information of payees, other than to civil servants with a need for access to perform their job duties within the Bureau of Fiscal Services who have passed all background checks and security clearances and taken all information security training called for in federal statutes and Treasury Department regulations; (ii) restrained from granting access to all political appointees, special government employees, and government employees detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department, to any Treasury Department payment record, payment systems, or any other data systems maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information and/or confidential financial information of payees; and (iii) ordered to direct any person prohibited above from having access to such information, records and systems but who has had access to such information, records, and systems since January 20, 2025, to immediately destroy any and all copies of material downloaded from the Treasury Department's records and systems...." Order at 3. He also included an order for the defendants to appear before Judge Jeannette A. Vargas on Friday, February 14 to show cause "why an order should not be issued pursuant to Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure preliminarily enjoining the defendants during the pendency of this action from granting to political appointees, special government employees, and any government employee detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department access to Treasury Department payment systems or any other data maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information." Id. at 2-3. Judge Vargas has now been assigned to hear the main case, on the same evening as this emergency order was issued..
   On Friday, the New York Attorney General had filed a Request for an Emergency Temporary Order, charging that there was evidence that the administration had far greater access and may even have altered software for the account. The request stated in part: "Virtually unfettered access to BFS payment systems was granted to at least one 25-year-old DOGE associate, ***, who, on information and belief, had the authority to view or modify numerous critical files. Indeed, reports indicate that *** had administrative privileges over the BFS payment system's code, giving him the ability to alter user permissions and "read and write" code--even if the associate had "read-only" access to the system's data. *** has since resigned from DOGE after being linked to racist social media posts." Request, at 3-4. The request went on to assert violations of a number of statutes and the Administrative Procedure Act. The 19 states involved are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
   Read the Emergency Order.
   Read the Complaint in the Case Filed by the Attorney General of New York on Behalf of the 19 States Seeking the Order.

GAO Issues Report on Cybersecurity and Encryption
November 21, 2024. The Government Accountability Office today issued a new report entitled "Future of Cybersecurity: Leadership Needed to Fully Define Quantum Threat Mitigation Strategy" warning of the need to address the danger to encryption tools for cybersecurity in light of the increasing likelihood that quantum computers will threaten the integrity of encryption programs in the foreseeable future. In its Watchblog post on the report, GAO warns, "Experts predict that a quantum computer capable of breaking such cryptography may exist within 10-20 years. Various federal entities have developed documents that inform a national strategy for addressing this threat. But the strategy lacks details and nobody's in charge of implementing it. We recommended the National Cyber Director coordinate the national strategy and use our guidelines for effective national strategies." The report explains that there appear to be three goals emerging that will likely form the basis for this strategy. "(1) standardize post-quantum cryptography, (2) migrate federal systems to that cryptography, and (3) encourage all sectors of the economy to prepare for the threat." Report at 1.
   The GAO points to the "Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act," signed into law in December 2022 as a starting point for the discussion, but also refers to two previous related GAO reports in 2021 (Quantum Computing and Communications: Status and Prospects) and 2023 (Science & Tech Spotlight: Securing Data for a Post-Quantum World) and (Quantum Computing and Communications: Status and Prospects). It also found 16 different international organizations "whose international activities significantly influence the security and governance of cyberspace" and summarized elements of their strategies. Future of Cybersecurity report, at 9.
   Read the Report.
   Read the GAO Watchblog Post on the Report.
   Read the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, P.L. 117-260.
   Read the 2023 Science & Tech Spotlight: Securing Data for a Post-Quantum World Watchblog post.
   Read the 2023 Science & Tech Spotlight: Securing Data for a Post-Quantum World report.
   Read the 2021 Quantum Computing and Communications: Status and Prospects Watchblog post.
   Read the 2021 Quantum Computing and Communications: Status and Prospects report.

GAO Issues the Second in Its Series of Reports on Generative AI
August 26, 2024. The Government Accountability Office has issued a new report entitled "Artificial Intelligence: Generative AI Training, Development, and Deployment Considerations," the second in a series of reports GAO is preparing on the subject. The report focuses on vulnerabilities in these AI systems and efforts by developers to anticipate and address them. In its Watchblog post on the report GAO notes that: "Primarily, developers recognize that their models are not fully reliable, and that user judgment should play a role in accepting model outputs. In various white papers, model cards, and other documentation, they have noted that despite the mitigation efforts, their models may produce incorrect outputs, exhibit bias, or be susceptible to attacks. Such attacks include prompt injection attacks, jailbreaks, and data poisoning. Prompt injection attacks and jailbreaks rely on text prompt inputs that may change the behavior of a generative AI model that could be used to conduct misinformation campaigns or transmit malware, among other malicious activities. Data poisoning is a process by which an attacker can change the behavior of a generative AI system through manipulation of its training data or process."
   In preparing today's report GAO indicated that it did its work with an eye toward Executive Order 14110, "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence," issued in October 2023. It also relied on a 2024 report for the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) by Vassilev, Oprea, Fordyce, and Anderson, "Adversarial Machine Learning: A Taxonomy and Terminology of Attacks and Mitigations. (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD) NIST Artifcial Intelligence (AI) Report, NIST Trustworthy and Responsible AI NIST AI 100-2e2023.
   The first report in the GAO series was issued in June and was entitled "Artificial Intelligence: Generative AI Technologies and Their Commercial Applications."
   Read the GAO Watchblog Post on the AI Training, Development, and Deployment Report issued today.
   Read the AI, Training, and Development Report.
   Read the GAO Watchblog Post on the AI Technologies and Their Commercial Applications Report issued in June.
   Read the AI Technologies and Their Commercial Applications Report issued in June.
   Read the report by Vassilev, Oprea, Fordyce, and Anderson, "Adversarial Machine Learning: A Taxonomy and Terminology of Attacks and Mitigations. (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD) .
   Read E.O. 14110.

Federal District Judge finds Google a Monopoly in Violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
August 6, 2024. Federal District Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has issued his memorandum opinion in U.S. v. Google, finding that: "After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly. It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act. Specifically, the court holds that (1) there are relevant product markets for general search services and general search text ads; (2) Google has monopoly power in those markets; (3) Google's distribution agreements are exclusive and have anticompetitive effects; and (4) Google has not offered valid procompetitive justifications for those agreements. Importantly, the court also finds that Google has exercised its monopoly power by charging supracompetitive prices for general search text ads. That conduct has allowed Google to earn monopoly profits."
   Read the opinion.

National Science Foundation and Department of Energy Announce First Awards Under the Administration's National AI Research Resource Program
May 13, 2024. The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy have announced the first awards under the National AI Research Resource pilot program designed to allow researchers to access federal state of the art AI capability to support their work. The pilot program is a two-year effort and is part of the administration's AI initiative that began with President Biden's Executive Order 14110 issued in 2023. The NSF explained: "AI holds the potential to accelerate discovery and innovation and help solve critical societal and global challenges. However, many researchers lack the necessary access to the computing, data, software and educational resources needed to fully conduct their research and to train the next generation of researchers. The NAIRR aims to bridge this gap and ensure that AI resources and tools are accessible to the broad research and education communities in a manner that advances trustworthy AI and protects privacy, civil rights and civil liberties. By connecting the research community to needed infrastructure resources, the NAIRR pilot will enable research that advances the frontiers of AI as well as the use of AI to drive breakthroughs in other fields of science and engineering."
   Applications for future awards opened last week and that information is available on the NAIRR program website below.
   Read the NSF Press Release on the NAIRR Program.
   Read Executive Order 14110.
   Access the NAIRR Program Website with Information on Opportunities, Applications, and Awards.
   Access NSF's Webpage Explaining the Program.

EU Parliament Adopts Artificial Intelligence Act
March 14, 2024.The European Parliament yesterday voted to approve the Artificial Intelligence Act with 523 votes in favor, 46 against, and 49 abstentions. The act has been under development for some time with complex consultive processes and analyses. The European Commission has explained: "The European AI Strategy aims at making the EU a world-class hub for AI and ensuring that AI is human-centric and trustworthy. Such an objective translates into the European approach to excellence and trust through concrete rules and actions." The new AI Act arrays regulatory requirements according to four classes of AI with some uses banned. As the EU Parliament explained in its news release: "The new rules ban certain AI applications that threaten citizens' rights, including biometric categorisation systems based on sensitive characteristics and untargeted scraping of facial images from the internet or CCTV footage to create facial recognition databases. Emotion recognition in the workplace and schools, social scoring, predictive policing (when it is based solely on profiling a person or assessing their characteristics), and AI that manipulates human behaviour or exploits people's vulnerabilities will also be forbidden." The European Commission provided more information in its announcement of last week, including explanation of the four classes, which include: Unacceptable Risk, High Risk, Limited Risk, and Minimal Risk.
   Read the European Parliament News Release on the Vote.
   Read European Commission "AI" Act News Release March 6 with Additional Links to key documents.
   Access the European Commission's "European Approach to Artificial Intelligence" release.
   Read Artificial Intelligence Act, Final Draft, January 21, 2014.
   Read EU AI Innovation Package.
   Read EU Coordinated Plan on AI.
   Read About the European AI Office and Its Functions.
   Access the EU Artificial Intelligence Act Website.

Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Social Media Content Moderation Policies
February 26, 2024. The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today in cases from Florida and Texas, Moody v. NetChoice, 22-277, and NetChoice v. Paxton, 22-555, involving state statutes prohibiting social media platforms from regulating content, what they refer to as content moderation. The lower courts ruled against the Florida statute, but although the district court halted the Texas action pending the litigation, the Fifth Circuit reversed. These are facial challenges.
   Read the Florida's Brief as Petitioner in 22-277.
   Read the Brief of Respondents NetChoice in 22-277.
   Read the Florida statute S.B. 7072.
   Read the Brief of the United States in Support of Repondents in 22-277 and Petitioners in 22-555.
   Read Brief of Petitioners NetChoice in 22-555 the Texas Case.
   Read the Brief of Respondent Texas Attorney General Paxton in 22-555.
   Read the Texas statute HB20.
   Read the Oral Argument Transcript--Florida Case.
   Read the Oral Argument Audio.
   Read the Oral Argument Transcript--Texas Case.
   Read the Oral Argument Audio.

Alabama Supreme Court Allows Wrongful Death Suits for Destruction of Embryos Raising Questions for Clinicians and Others
February 21, 2024. The Alabama Supreme Court has issued an opinion in which it concludes that, under the Alabama's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, "Unborn children are 'children' under the Act, without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics." LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, at 11. According to the Court, that includes embryos. Therefore, clinics and those who work with embryos now face possible legal action if and when they accidentally or intentional destroy an embryo. For more information and the opinion, see the Heath Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Senate Appears Like to Advance Kids Online Protection Act
February 15, 2024.Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have announced that they now have 62 co-sponsors in the Senate for passage of a new version of S.1409 the Kids Online Safety Act released today, which is more than needed to overcome a possible filibuster. The proposed legislation follows a long process of hearings including testimony by a range of people from social media companies, parents' groups, and others. There is not currently a companion bill in the House.
   Read the Current Version of S. 1409 released today.
   Access Senator Blackburn's webpage on the bill with materials.
   Access Senator Blumenthal's webpage on the bill with materials.

Federal Trade Commission Announces Settlements Aimed at Reining in Data Brokers and Others Gathering and Distributing Personal Data
January 18, 2024. The Federal Trade Commission has announced another settlement in its current efforts to constrain data brokers and other firms seeking to gather and share large amounts of private information on consumers and medical care users. Today the FTC announced a settlement with InMarket and on January 9 it announced a settlement in the X-Mode Social and Outlogic case concerning sale of location data charging that the companies "did not fully inform consumers and obtain their consent before collecting and using their location data for advertising and marketing." FTC Press Release
   Access the FTC Press Release on the InMarket Settlement.
   Read the Proposed Order in the InMarket Case.
   Read the Complaint in the InMarket Case.
   Read the FTC Press Release on the Settlement with X-Mode Social and Outlogic on Sales of Location Data.
   Read the Complaint in the X-Mode Social and Outlogic Case.
   Read the Proposed Order in the X-Mode Social and Outlogic Case.

GAO Issues Major Report on AI in Federal Agencies
December 14, 2023.The Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week issued a major report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) across the federal government, specifically studying 23 agences. As GAO explained: "In this report, GAO reviewed the implementation of AI at major federal agencies. This report examines (1) federal agency reported current and planned uses of AI, (2) the extent to which federal agencies' AI reporting was comprehensive and accurate, and (3) the extent to which federal agencies have complied with selected federal policy and guidance on AI." GAO Watchblog Post. The GAO report offered 35 recommendations. In introducing its post on this one, GAO said that, among other things: "Federal law and guidance have several requirements for agencies implementing AI, but they haven't all been met. For example, there's no government-wide guidance on how agencies should acquire and use AI. Without such guidance, agencies can't consistently manage AI. And until all requirements are met, agencies can't effectively address AI risks and benefits."
   Read the GAO WatchBlog Post on the New Report.
   Read the Full Report.
   Read the "Highlights Pages" of the Report.

Seventeen Nations Come Together to Create Guidance for Secure AI Development
November 29, 2023. The U.S. Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) and the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have worked with agencies from fifteen other countries to produce a "Guideline for Secure AI Development." The introduction to the guideline explains that this guideline operates from a "secure-by-design" foundation. It goes on to explain that: "AI systems have the potential to bring many benefits to society. However, for the opportunities of AI to be fully realised, it must be developed, deployed and operated in a secure and responsible way. AI systems are subject to novel security vulnerabilities that need to be considered alongside standard cyber security threats. When the pace of development is high--as is the case with AI--security can often be a secondary consideration. Security must be a core requirement, not just in the development phase, but throughout the life cycle of the system. For this reason, the guidelines are broken down into four key areas within the AI system development life cycle: secure design, secure development, secure deployment, and secure operation and maintenance. For each section we suggest considerations and mitigations that will help reduce the overall risk to an organisational AI system development process."
   Access the Guideline for Secure AI Development.
   Read the U.S./U.K. Joint Press Release on the New Guideline.
   Access the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) Website.

DOD Publishes Its "Responsible AI Toolkit"
November 20, 2023. The Department of Defense Chief Digital & Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) has followed last month's publication of President Biden's Executive Order 14110 entitled "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence" with the DOD release of its Responsible AI Toolkit. The DOD CDAO blog post on the toolkit explains its origins tracing back to a 2020 publication on Ethical Principles for AI at DOD and then to the 2022 Responsible AI Strategy and Implementation Pathway.
   For more information last month's executive order and related materials, See the post on this page for October 31.
   Access DOD's Reponsible AI Toolkit.
   Read DOD's Chief Digital & Artificial Intelligence Office Blog Post About the Toolkit.
   Read DOD's Responsible AI Strategy and Implementation Pathway from 2022.
   Read the Blog Post of February 2021 on "Progress and Future of Responsible AI in the DoD."
   Read DOD's February 2020 Ethical Principles for AI.
   Read Executive Order 14110.
   Access the Chief Digital & Artificial Intelligence Office Website.

President Biden Issues Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence
October 31, 2023. President Biden has issued an Executive Order entitled "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence." The Fact Sheet issued with the order explains that the executive order addresses a number of components, including: "New Standards for AI Safety and Security; Protecting Americans' Privacy; Advancing Equity and Civil Rights; Standing Up for Consumers, Patients, and Students; Supporting Workers; Promoting Innovation and Competition; Advancing American Leadership Abroad; Ensuring Responsible and Effective Government Use of AI."
   Read the Executive Order.
   Read the Facts Sheet Issued with the Order.
   Remarks on Issuance of AI Executive Order by President and Vice President.

Fifth Circuit Stays Broad District Court Injunction Against Biden Administration Interactions with Social Media Companies
July 14, 2023. A panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals today issued a stay of the broad Louisiana federal court injunction against the Biden administration in the social media cases. More more information on the case and the district court ruling, see the post for July 6 below.
   Read the Fifth Circuit Stay.

Federal District Judge in Louisiana Issues Broad Injunction Against Biden Administration Interactions with Social Media Companies
July 6, 2023. Federal District Judge Terry A. Doughty of the Western District of Louisiana had issued a preliminary injunction in a case that blocks efforts by the Biden administration to work with social media companies to address problems of misinformation or disinformation in a case brought by Missouri. That injunction is based on a 155 page Memorandum Ruling on Request of a Preliminary Injunction finding that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on their claim of First Amendment violations, stating that assertion in extraordinarily strong terms.
   Read the Injunction.
   Read the Memorandum Ruling on Request for a Preliminary Injunction.

DOD Considers New Policies on Artificial Intelligence
Feburary 24, 2020. One part of the current discussion of the dramatically increasing role of artificial intelligence in contemporary policy and governance is an effort by the Defense Innovation Board (DIB) on behalf of the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop a set of policy proposals, the most recent of which is "AI Principles: Recommendations on the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence by the Department of Defense." This set of recommendations was accompanied by the "Support Document," providing the foundation work on the basis of which the recommendations were developed. These documents are part of what DIB calls its "AI Principles Project." The "AI Principles" document sets forth the foundation statement that: "[T]he Department should set the goal that its use of AI systems is: "1. Responsible. Human beings should exercise appropriate levels of judgment and remain responsible for the development, deployment, use, and outcomes of DoD AI systems. 2. Equitable. DoD should take deliberate steps to avoid unintended bias in the development and deployment of combat or non-combat AI systems that would inadvertently cause harm to persons. 3. Traceable. DoD's AI engineering discipline should be sufficiently advanced such that technical experts possess an appropriate understanding of the technology, development processes, and operational methods of its AI systems, including transparent and auditable methodologies, data sources, and design procedure and documentation. 4. Reliable. DoD AI systems should have an explicit, well-defined domain of use, and the safety, security, and robustness of such systems should be tested and assured across their entire life cycle within that domain of use. 5. Governable. DoD AI systems should be designed and engineered to fulfill their intended function while possessing the ability to detect and avoid unintended harm or disruption, and for human or automated disengagement or deactivation of deployed systems that demonstrate unintended escalatory or other behavior." "AI Principles" at 8.
   Read AI Principles.
   Read the AI Principles Support Document.
   Access the Defense Innovation Board's AI Principles Project.
   DOD Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.

Stanford and New York University Researchers Publish New Report on Artificial Intelligence in Federal Agencies as Part of Administrative Conference of the United States Project
February 19, 2020. Professors David Freeman Engstrom, Stanford University, Daniel E. Ho, Stanford University, Catherine M. Sharkey, New York University, and Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Stanford University and Supreme Court of California have completed a report for the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) entitled Government by Algorithm: Artificial Intelligence in Federal Administrative Agencies. This report is part of an initiative launched by ACUS aimed at "exploring the growing role that artificial intelligence (AI), such as machine learning and related techniques, is playing in federal agency adjudication, rulemaking, and other regulatory activities.exploring the growing role that artificial intelligence (AI), such as machine learning and related techniques, is playing in federal agency adjudication, rulemaking, and other regulatory activities." (ACUS website) The report provides a number of case studies in very different policy domains involving a range of federal agencies. They include: "Regulatory Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission; Law Enforcement at Customs and Border Protection; Formal Adjudication at the Social Security Administration; Informal Adjudication at the United States Patent and Trademark Office; Regulatory Analysis at the Food and Drug Administration; Public Engagement at the Federal Communications Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; and Autonomous Vehicles for Mail Delivery at the United States Postal Service."
   This report comes just after the Trump administration took action to accelerate the development and implementation of artificial intelligence systems and programs. These actions are described below in the posting for January 10.
   Read the Report.
   Access the ACUS Webpage on the AI Project.
   Access the ACUS website.

Trump Administration Warns Agencies to Avoid "Burdensome" Regulation of Artificial Intelligence and Promote the Technology
January 10, 2020.The Trump administration took action this week to accelerate the development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) systems and programs by moving to limit regulatory efforts and encourage data-sharing by federal agencies. The Trump action came in the form of an announcement of the initiative by U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios in an op-ed in Bloomberg Opinion on January 7 and released on the same day of a draft OMB guideline for administrative agencies setting forth the new policy.
   The OMB document entitled "Guidance for Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Applications" goes well beyond the language Kratsios used in the Bloomberg piece, in which he indicated that the regulatory agencies were to take a "light touch" approach. The OMB guidance calls for active facilitation of AI programs and business enterprise activity through reduced regulatory limitations, active promotion of AI developments, expanded data sharing, and action to preempt steps by state governments that might inhibit AI development and expanded use in government programs and policies. The announced intention of the OMB action is to implement aggressively the provisions of Executive Order 13859 issued by President Trump in February 2019 entitled "Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence," 84 Fed. Reg. 3967 (February 14, 2019).
   The OMB policy also relies on portions of P.L. 115-232, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2019. Section 238 of that statute concerns "Joint artificial intelligence research, development, and transition activities" and Section 1051 creates a "National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence."
   The OMB draft explains: "This draft Memorandum sets out policy considerations that should guide, to the extent permitted by law, regulatory and non-regulatory oversight of AI applications developed and deployed outside of the Federal government. Although Federal agencies currently use AI in many ways to perform their missions, government use of AI is outside the scope of this Memorandum. While this Memorandum uses the definition of AI recently codified in statute, [citing P.L. 115-232] it focuses on 'narrow' (also known as 'weak') AI, which goes beyond advanced conventional computing to learn and perform domain-specific or specialized tasks by extracting information of the potential regulation on AI innovation and growth. Agencies must avoid a precautionary approach that holds AI systems to such an impossibly high standard that society cannot enjoy their benefits. Where AI entails risk, agencies should consider the potential benefits and costs of employing AI, when compared to the systems AI has been designed to complement or replace." The guidances goes on to stress that: "Furthermore, in the context of AI, as in other settings, agencies must consider the effect of Federal regulation on existing or potential actions by State and local governments. In some circumstances, agencies may use their authority to address inconsistent, burdensome, and from data sets, or other structured or unstructured sources of information. More theoretical applications of 'strong' or 'general' AI-AI that may exhibit sentience or consciousness, can be applied to a wide variety of cross-domain activities and perform at the level of, or better than a human agent, or has the capacity to self-improve its general cognitive abilities similar to or beyond human capabilities-are beyond the scope of this Memorandum." Guidance at 1-2.
   As part of its efforts to promote AI in government and beyond the White House has created a specific website on the initiative.
   Although the administration has been actively promoting AI work with government, including this week's op-ed by Mr. Kratsios, reporting by Brandi Vincent in NextGov brought wider attention to the initiative and the new OMB guidance document.
   Read the OIRA Draft Guidance.
   Read Executive Order 13859.
   Read P.L. 115-232 the McCain Nat. Def. Authorization Act 2019.
   Read the Kratsios op-ed in Bloomberg.
   Access the White House "Artificial Intelligence for the American People" website.
   Read the Vincent article in Nextgov.

Presidential Directives on Science, Technology, AI, and Cyber

Executive Directives Issued by President Trump Since Taking Office
Updated June 18, 2025. The following are the executive orders, proclamations, presidential memoranda, and national security directives issued by President Trump since taking office in January. These items are being updated, first, when new ones appear on the White House postings, and then corrected for citation, number, and date as they become available through the Federal Register. As the Register cautions, particularly with respect to presidential memoranda and "other presidential document," the materials published are those submitted to the Register by the White House Office of the Executive Clerk. Where there are memoranda that were not sent to the Register, but are otherwise available, they have been posted here with the relevant website location.
   Executive Orders
   Read Executive Order 14166 of January 20, 2025, "Application of Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to TikTok."
   Read Executive Order 14177 of January 23, 2025, "President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology."
   Read Executive Order 14178 of January 23, 2025, "Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology."
   Read Executive Order 14179 of January 23, 2025, "Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence ."
   Read Executive Order 14224 of March 1, 2025, "Designating English as the Official Language of the United States."
   Read Executive Order 14243 of Marach 20, 2025, "Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos."
   Read Executive Order 14253of March 27, 2025, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History."
   Read Executive Order 14258 of April 4Extending the TikTok Enforcement Delay, 2025, "Extending the TikTok Enforcement Delay."
   Read Executive Order 14277 of April 23, 2025, "Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth."
   Read Executive Order 14278 of April 23, 2025, "Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future."
   Read Executive Order 14306 of June 6, 2025, "Sustaining Select Efforts to Strengthen the Nation's Cybersecurity and Amending Executive Order 13694 and Executive Order 14144."
   Read Executive Order 14307 of June 6, 2025, "Unleashing American Drone Dominance."
   Read Executive Order 142** of June 19, 2025, "Further Extending the TikTok Enforcement Delay."
   Memoranda (See also National Security Directives/National Security Policy Memoranda (NSPMs folloring the listing of Memoranda)
   Read Memorandum of March 27, 2025, "Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities."

Public Law Resources on Information Law & Policy

The United States Supreme Court
   (Docket, Briefs, Oral Arguments, Opinions)
   Access the Supreme Court Homepage

Court of Appeals and District Court Opinions
   Government Printing Office -- U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
   Government Printing Office -- U.S. District Courts
   The Legal Information Institute Cornell University
   https://www.law.cornell.edu/federal/opinions.html
   FindLaw.com
   https://www.findlaw.com/casecode/

Constitution of the United States
   The Constitution with Analysis and Interpretation (GPO for the Senate 2016 Edition).
   The Constitution -- The Basic Document from (GPO) as Amended and Unratified Amendments.
   The Amendments to the Constitution -- The Basic Document from (GPO)

GovInfo.gov The Primary Site for Federal Documents
   GovInfo.gov is the primary site to access federal documents. [This website replaced what was known as the Federal Digital System (FDsys) in December 2018.]
   Access GovInfo.gov

United States Code and Statutes at Large
   The U.S. Code and the Statutes at Large from 1789 to the present are available online. The materials up to 1950 are available through the Library of Congress online and from 1951 on are available through the Government Printing Office online resources.
   Access the U.S. Code.
   Access the Statutes at Large Via the Library of Congress. This site includes Volumes 1-64, (1789-1950) via the Library of Congress website
   Access the Statutes at Large (1951 - Present).

U.S. Regulations (Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations)
   The Federal Register provides the daily publication of administrative rules and rulemaking announcements (among other executive branch publications). The Code of Federal Regulations is the codification for federal rules by subject.
   Federal Register
   Today's Edition of the Federal Register
   Code of Federal Regulations

U.S. Government Regulation Process Portals
   Regulations.gov is the comprehensive Internet portal created in response to the E-Government Act of 2003 where comments can be provided to pending rules.
   https://www.regulations.gov
   RegInfo.gov is a site that provides status reports and regulatory analysis materials on federal rules, including the regulatory Agenda, regulatory review analyses, information collection analyses, and public input on pending rules (via Regulations.gov).
   https://www.reginfo.gov

U.S. Department of Justice Opinions and Briefs
   Opinions Issued by the Office of Legal Counsel
   Briefs Filed by the Solicitor General

Presidential Executive Orders
   Until the beginning of the Trump Administration, executive orders and the changes they made in other existing orders were available through the National Archives' "Disposition Tables." Since the beginning of the Trump administration, there has been a transition underway to provide the orders through a "Executive Orders" site operated by the Office of the Federal Register.
   National Archives and Records Administration
   Disposition Tables from Dwight W. Eisenhower to George W. Bush
   Full text links from 1995 to January 20, 2017
   https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/disposition.html
   Office of the Federal Register
   Executive Orders
   Full text links from 1995 to January 20, 2017
   Full text links from 1994 to Present

Presidential Proclamations and Presidential Memoranda
   Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Through January 2009 and then Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents thereafter.
   Because of their historical importance, the Alito Memorandum, the signing statement on the Detainee Protection Act, and the response of Senators McCain and Warner to are posted as well. Also at the request of some interested in the subject, articles on the subject by the author are provided.
   Federal Register Presidential Proclamations Website
   Federal Register "Other Presidential Documents" Website Focusing on Presidential Memoranda.

Other Sources for Accessing Presidential Proclamations, Memoranda, Signing Statements
   Compilation of Presidential Documents
   Ms. Joyce Green's Index to signing statements from 2001 to presentl
   Ms. Joyce Green's Signing statements from 2001 to presentl
   Ms. Joyce Green's Signing statements from 2001 to presentl -- Annotated
   Access the Woolley and Peters Data Base of Signing statements from 1929 to present.
   Additional Materials About the Alito Memorandum, the Detainee Protection Act Order, the Senate Response, and Explanatory Articles.
   Read the Alito Memorandum.
   Read the Presidential Signing Statement on H.R.2863.
   Read the Levin Response to the Signing Statement.
   Read the McCain and Warner Response.
   Access Phillip J. Cooper, George W. Bush, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Use and Abuse of Presidential Signing Statements.
   Access Phillip J. Cooper, Signing Statements as Declaratory Judgments: The President as Judge.

National Security Directives
   Federation of American Scientists
   https://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/direct.htm

Executive Agreements and Treaties
   Treaties are international agreements that require Senate advice and consent under the Constitution, but executive agreements do not in most instances require specific congressional approval, though they may require appropriations or other actions for implementation. Executive agreements are considered as treaties in the international arena even though they are not treaties within the United States in constitutional terms. For too long, the tendency to view policy and law as either domestic U.S. or international has meant a lack of attention to executive agreements and the many important impacts they have within the country and not just in the international arena.
   The U.S. Department of State provides the following sources. (For more information on international materials, see the International Law Resources further down on this webpage.)
   Texts of International Agreements to Which the U.S. is a Party (TIAS)
   Treaties in Force
   Treaties Pending in the Senate
   Office of Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs
   Department of State Press Releases

United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) Reports
    GAO Reports to Congress, testimony, Comptroller General's Contracts Rulings, Major Rulemaking Reports
   https://www.gao.gov/

Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS)
    "ACUS is an independent federal agency charged with convening expert representatives from the public and private sectors to recommend improvements to administrative process and procedure. ACUS initiatives promote efficiency, participation, and fairness in the promulgation of federal regulations and in the administration of federal programs." From the ACUS website. The site provides a variety of resources, including ACUS reports on specific topics in administrative law.
   ACUS Homepage

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
   Congressional Research Service reports to Congress are prepared for the use of the committees and members of Congress. The Library of Congress has launched a publicly available Congressional Research Service Reports website (mandated by Section 154 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2018). Until the passage of that legislation, the LOC took the position that the CRS reports were prepared for the use of Congress and did not make them available to the public, though other websites have made many of them available online.
   The Federation of American Scientists' site website has been one of the best places to find CRS reports. A site opened in 2016 known as EveryCRSReport.com with more than 8,000 such documents.
   Access the CRS Reports Library of Congress Page.
   Access a collection of selected CRS reports via the Federation of American Scientists site.
   .Access the EveryCRSReport website.

Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS)
   As the ACUS explains it "ACUS is an independent federal agency charged with convening expert representatives from the public and private sectors to recommend improvements to administrative process and procedure."
   Access the ACUS Website
   Access the Federal Administrative Procedure Sourcebook
   Access the Sourcebook of United States Executive Agencies

U.S. Government Agencies Directory and US Government Manual
   USA.gov Directory of Agencies and Elected Officials. The Government Printing Office also prepares the official US Government Manual. The other key item is a report in U.S. Executive Agencies prepared by the Administrative Conference of the United States.
   USA.gov Homepage
   Most Recent US Govenrment Manual (2017) in .pdf
   US Govenrment Manual Online
   ACUS Sourcebook of United States Executive Agencies

International Law Resources

United Nations International Law Materials
   Home page for UN Legal Affairs
   Access the United Nations Treaty Collection
   Access UN Documents

International Court of Justice
   Home Page
   Case Law

European Union Law "Eur-Lex"
   Home Page

Congressional and General Federal Research

Congressional Materials
   Congress.gov: Legislative Information on the Internet
   Congress.gov Homepage
   Congressional Research Service reports to Congress are prepared for the use of the committees and members of Congress. The Library of Congress has launched a publicly available Congressional Research Service Reports website (mandated by Section 154 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2018). Until the passage of that legislation, the LOC took the position that the CRS reports were prepared for the use of Congress and did not make them available to the public, though other websites have made many of them available online.
   Access the CRS Reports Library of Congress Page.
   Access a collection of selected CRS reports via the Federation of American Scientists site.
   .Access the EveryCRSReport website.

   Legislative History Materials. The Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C., has published its "Legislative SourceBook"
   https://www.llsdc.org/sourcebook/
   Richard J. McKinney and Ellen A. Sweet, "Federal Legislative History Research: A Practitioners Guide to Compiling the Documents and Difting for Legislative Intent," on its Internet site.
   https://www.llsdc.org/sourcebook/fed-leg-hist.htm

General Federal Government Searches
   https://www.USAgov.gov/index.shtml

General Legal Research Sites

Legal Dictionary -- Findlaw.com
   Access this easy to use Legal Dictionary.

The Legal Information Institute Cornell University
   https://www.law.cornell.edu/

FindLaw.com
   https://www.findlaw.com/

Peter W. Martin, Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (LII 2003 ed.)
   https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/

Federal Legislative History
   Offered by Library of Congress Law Library
   Offered by Georgetown Law Library
   "Federal Legislative History 101," by Rick McKinney, Provided by the Law Librarians' Society of Washington D.C.
   "Federal Legislative History Research: A Practitioner's Guide," by Richard J. McKinney and Ellen A. Sweet, Provided by the Law Librarians' Society of Washington D.C.

Standard Approaches to Statutory Interpretation
    Larry M. Eig Specialist in American Public Law of the Congressional Research Service has provided a useful guide to the essential norms of legislative interpretation, in his CRS Report to Congress entitled "Statutory Interpretation: General Principles and Recent Trends."
   Access "Statutory Interpretation: General Principles and Recent Trends."

Legislative History Guides for All 50 States
   Compiled by the Law Library of the Maurer School of Law, Indiana University