In a forceful political and regulatory maneuver aimed at curbing the existential risks of technology, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an emergency executive order to accelerate oversight of the artificial intelligence industry.

The measure seeks to counter the inaction of the federal government in Washington and calls for the creation of a strict regulatory framework that includes the mandatory installation of a "kill switch" or emergency shutoff in the most advanced systems in Silicon Valley.

**The "emergency switch" and the acceleration of oversight in Silicon Valley**

The executive directive immediately accelerates the implementation timelines of two recently enacted state laws: Senate Bill 813, which establishes a certification system for independent verification organizations, and AB 1405, which creates an official registry of artificial intelligence auditors. The order also convenes a panel of national cybersecurity experts, who will have until November 16 to deliver concrete recommendations aimed at strengthening existing legislation.

While Congress sits on its hands, California is leading the nation on AI safety.

— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) September 18, 2026

I'm issuing an executive order to accelerate third-party oversight of frontier labs and calling on world-leading experts to report back on proposals like "kill switches" for models.

That's building…

Among the priorities assigned to the technical committee, the requirement to implement a "safety switch" capable of remotely and permanently deactivating frontier models that lose control or exhibit anomalous behavior stands out. The initiative revives the spirit of bill SB 1047, which Newsom himself vetoed in 2024, but now responds to recent high-severity incidents, such as the autonomous cyberattack suffered by the Hugging Face platform. Under the new directive, technology companies will not only be required to submit their risk protocols, but these will also have to be audited in real time by independent supervisors stationed directly inside development laboratories.

**The political battle with Washington and the future of technology regulation**

In justifying the urgency of the measure, Newsom directed his criticism squarely at the administration of President Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress, denouncing an alarming passivity in the face of a technology whose own chief executives have called for regulation. The governor argued that California already functions as the country's regulatory laboratory through laws such as the algorithmic transparency measure SB 53, and urged federal authorities to adopt the California model as the minimum national security benchmark to protect citizens before it is too late.

The governor's decision generated broad support among state legislators promoting technological safety, as well as cautious but favorable reactions from industry giants such as OpenAI and Anthropic, whose executives confirmed their willingness to collaborate in the development of third-party audits. With Newsom's mandate entering its final stage and attention focused on the Democratic frontrunner for governor, Xavier Becerra, the November 16 report will lay the groundwork for a new legislative package that will seek to make the "kill switch" an unavoidable requirement for corporations competing to achieve artificial superintelligence.

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