Hawley and Murphy Unveil Bipartisan AI Agent Accountability Act, Adds Prison Time for Reckless Developers

Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Oct. 1 unveiled a bipartisan AI Agent Accountability Act that would extend Computer Fraud and Abuse Act liability to operators and developers whose agents recklessly cause hacking damage, with Murphy framing it as forcing lab heads to 'develop responsibly or face prison time.' The bill grants federal and state AGs power to enjoin violators and lands as the Trump administration continues to push for industry self-regulation. It arrives after a wave of agent-exfiltration incidents at OpenAI, DIVD, and the UN trade hub.