NYC Council AI Safety Hearing: First Under-Oath Testimony from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta; SpaceXAI Subpoenaed
Update (October 5, 2026 — hearing day): The New York City Council's rare Committee of the Whole hearing on AI safety — convening all 51 members — is being held today. Per Speaker Julie Menin's September 28 announcement, the Council "had secured the first public testimony under oath from major AI firms — including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and Meta — regarding the potential dangers of AI technology and to seek their input on potential legislative solutions." (https://council.nyc.gov/press/2026/09/28/3266/)
The subpoena mechanics, per the Council's own press release:
- Menin sent letters to five companies September 15–17 requesting voluntary testimony; only Meta responded.
- On September 25, after the other companies declined, Menin authorized subpoenas for all, to be served from 9:00 a.m. Monday, September 28, under Council Rule 7.150.
- Anthropic confirmed late Sunday night, "just hours before the subpoena was due to be served." OpenAI and Google agreed under the same threat.
- SpaceXAI never responded and was actually subpoenaed on September 28. If it fails to comply, "the Council may seek judicial enforcement in New York State Supreme Court."
Menin's framing: "Leading experts and AI executives themselves are warning about the potentially grave risks of rapidly advancing AI, and governments have a responsibility to act."
A whistleblower will testify alongside the labs: former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon — who has accused Anthropic and OpenAI of taking excessive risks in the race to more advanced AI — appears at Menin's request (Bloomberg, via Yahoo Finance). Menin has encouraged AI whistleblowers to come forward; a companion NY AG whistleblower-portal effort remains open with no formal OAG action yet.
The hearing takes up the Council's September 25 ten-bill AI regulatory package, which per the Council includes:
- a first-in-the-nation whistleblower incentive program letting whistleblowers share in fines or penalties recovered from AI companies,
- a private right-of-action for New Yorkers harmed by AI agents, and
- independent third-party validation requirements for AI systems.
OpenAI's written message to the Council ahead of testimony, per CBS News: "We test models for dangerous capabilities and concerning behavior, strengthen security, and monitor for failures of our safeguards." (https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/new-york-city-council-artificial-intelligence-hearing/)
Why it matters: This is the first time frontier-lab executives testify under oath before a legislature about AI risk, extracted by municipal subpoena power. Whatever is said under oath today is discoverable in the pending private litigation and usable by state AGs; and the bill package (private right of action + whistleblower bounties) would, if enacted, give NYC a private enforcement ecosystem for AI harms that no state currently has.