# OpenAI and Anthropic urge UK parliament to pass binding AI rules

> At a parliamentary hearing on 13 Oct 2026, executives from OpenAI and Anthropic said voluntary pledges aren’t enough and called for statutory safety regulations.

Oossa · 2026-10-13 · https://oossa.com/en/openai-and-anthropic-urge-uk-parliament-to-pass-binding-ai-rules

Representatives from OpenAI and Anthropic appeared before the UK Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee on 13 Oct 2026. Both said the industry’s current self‑regulation does not guarantee safety. Anthropic’s European head, Liam Booth‑Smith, called for “binding rules” on AI companies. OpenAI’s vice‑president, Tom Duff Gordon, agreed that mandatory elements such as incident reporting should be part of a legal framework.

## Why the call matters now

The hearing highlighted a split among the biggest AI labs. Google DeepMind and Meta said they would stick to standards rather than new laws, while the US‑based firms pushed for legislation. At the same time, MI5’s director warned that AI could make bioweapon threats more serious, underscoring security concerns.

## What the UK currently does

Britain’s AI Security Institute (AISI) can test frontier models only if companies hand them over, and it has no power to stop releases it deems unsafe. The institute’s director, Henry de Zoete, admitted the system is entirely voluntary and dependent on cooperation from US‑ and Chinese‑based firms.

## The facts

- The hearing took place on 13 Oct 2026, the same day the story was published.
- Anthropic’s Liam Booth‑Smith said the company “consistently believed that there should be binding rules”.
- OpenAI’s Tom Duff Gordon called for mandatory incident‑reporting as a first step.
- Google DeepMind’s Owen Larter and Meta’s Rob Sherman said they prefer standards over new statutes.
- MI5 director Ken McCallum warned that AI could raise the stakes for bioweapon misuse.

## Why it matters

If the UK adopts binding AI safety rules, companies may have to report accidents and submit models for independent testing, which could reduce the chance of dangerous releases reaching the public. For everyday users, clearer regulation could mean fewer unexpected outages or harmful outputs from popular AI services.

## Sources & references

1. [OpenAI and Anthropic Tell British Lawmakers: Regulate Us](https://www.wired.com/story/openai-and-anthropic-tell-british-lawmakers-regulate-us/) – Wired, 2026-10-13

Last updated: 2026-10-13