On September 1, 2026, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce considered the AI for Secure Networks Act, H.R. 7294. The bill would direct the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to study the impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology on the security of telecommunications networks, including both the risks posed by advanced AI and the possibility of using AI in defense of such networks.
Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) introduced an amendment that reflected discussions with stakeholders since the bill’s introduction in January. Among the amendments was one suggested by APCO to ensure that NTIA would specifically study impacts on alerting networks and other telecommunications networks used by public safety agencies. APCO believes that studying the impact on public safety networks is particularly important in light of recent revelations that an autonomous AI agent was able to circumvent security controls and execute a complex cyber intrusion largely without human direction, underscoring the risks that advanced AI may pose to critical communications infrastructure. The subcommittee adopted the amendment and forwarded the bill to the full committee by voice vote.
