NYC Council Calls AI Safety Hearing and Warns Companies of Subpoenas

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin has called a rare full-Council hearing on AI safety for Oct. 5, inviting major technology companies to discuss safeguards, misuse and possible city action. The Committee of the Whole session puts a fast-moving industry before the Council’s entire membership as lawmakers consider what protections New York City could pursue.

Menin initially wrote to OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman and Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei, saying their companies were invited and expected to participate. She later sought participation from Meta, Google and X. As of amNewYork’s Friday reporting deadline, none of the five companies had answered its questions about participation or who they might send to testify.

A rare format brings every member into the hearing

A Committee of the Whole includes all 51 Council members and is chaired by the speaker, rather than leaving the matter with one standing committee. City & State reported that the Council’s last recorded session in this format was in 2022, when it examined the city’s provision of services to migrants. That structure makes the Oct. 5 hearing a Council-wide oversight exercise, not a routine committee meeting.

The questions lawmakers want answered

The Council says it plans to examine AI safety, misuse by bad actors, company oversight and whether additional safeguards or legislation are needed to protect New Yorkers. Menin has described the goal as developing responsible legislative guardrails and said the Council is exploring what it can regulate. The hearing is an attempt to turn broad concerns about AI safety into public answers about companies’ practices and a more concrete city policy agenda.

Compulsory testimony meets a local limit

Menin said she hoped subpoenas would not be necessary, so no subpoena has been issued. City & State also noted that the Council may have relatively little power to regulate the companies directly. Still, OpenAI and Anthropic both have office space in New York City and retain city lobbying firms, giving a city hearing a direct audience for two companies central to the safety debate.

The immediate test is whether the invited companies agree to appear. If they do, the Council will have a public forum to question them about their safeguards; if they do not, Menin has signaled that the Council is prepared to consider a stronger route to testimony.