OpenAI is asking California lawmakers to make the state's AI safety law tougher, not weaker.
In a statement addressing the state's SB 53 framework, OpenAI said the law should 'be amended to expand safeguards.' The company did not specify which safeguards it wants added, what gaps it sees in the current law, or when it expects lawmakers to act. SB 53 already sets baseline transparency and safety obligations for large AI developers operating in California. OpenAI's comments arrived without an accompanying policy proposal, formal filing, or named executive attached to the request.
AI companies typically ask regulators for less oversight, not more, so a call to strengthen a safety law is worth a second look. Without specifics, though, it reads more like a positioning statement than a policy commitment. It lets OpenAI claim credit for supporting safety regulation while leaving the actual scope of the ask to be filled in later, or never.
Until OpenAI names the safeguards it wants, this is a headline, not a policy.