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NY AG Industry Alert Urging Whistleblower Complaints on Unsafe AI Development

Various AI developers (no specific entity named)September 17, 2026New York Attorney General

Summary

New York Attorney General Letitia James issued an industry alert urging workers with knowledge of unsafe or illegal conduct in AI development to file confidential complaints through the OAG's secure whistleblower portal. The alert cites the OAG's monitoring of cybersecurity, economic, and other safety risks from emerging AI, and highlights the RAISE Act (effective January 1, 2027), which will require large AI developers to publicly disclose safety measures and report security incidents, as well as the SHIELD Act's data security requirements. No company was named, charged, or penalized; the alert signals impending OAG enforcement authority over AI developers.

Remedy

No remedies were imposed and no company was named or charged. The alert announces that the OAG will have authority under the RAISE Act, effective January 1, 2027, to take legal action against large AI developers that fail to publicly disclose safety measures or report security and safety incidents, and reminds companies of existing obligations under the SHIELD Act to maintain reasonable data security practices. Workers may file anonymous, confidential whistleblower complaints through the OAG's secure portal.

Contract Impact

In-house teams, particularly those procuring or deploying AI systems, should review AI vendor and technology agreements for readiness against New York's RAISE Act (effective January 1, 2027), which requires large AI developers to publicly disclose safety measures and promptly report security and safety incidents - vendor contracts should be updated to include representations of RAISE Act compliance, prompt incident notification obligations, and audit/inspection rights over AI safety practices. Data security clauses across vendor and customer agreements should be checked for alignment with the SHIELD Act's requirement of 'reasonable data security practices to prevent data breaches.' Additionally, employment agreements, separation agreements, and NDAs should be reviewed to ensure confidentiality, non-disparagement, and arbitration provisions do not impede employees' rights to report unsafe or illegal AI development to regulators (including through the NY OAG whistleblower portal), and cooperation-with-regulators clauses should be added where missing.

Contract Search Terms

RAISE Act complianceAI safety disclosuresecurity incident reportingSHIELD Act data securityreasonable data security practiceswhistleblower protectionAI risk assessmentincident notification clauseAI developer vendor agreementconfidentiality carve-out for regulators

Laws Cited

New York Responsible AI Safety and Education (RAISE) ActNew York SHIELD ActComputer Fraud and Abuse Act

Violation Types

Entity Details

Entity

Various AI developers (no specific entity named)

Industry

Technology

Official Sources

Source Evidence

Entity Name
"an alert to all workers with information about companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) technology"
Event Date
"September 17, 2026"
Event Type
"Attorney General Letitia James today issued an alert to all workers"
Jurisdiction
"NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James"
Laws Cited
"New York's Responsible AI Safety and Education (RAISE) Act, drafted with support from OAG, goes into effect on January 1, 2027 and requires large AI developers to publicly disclose their safety measures and swiftly report security and safety incidents."
Laws Cited
"The OAG also has authority to address violations of New York's [SHIELD Act]"

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