A nonpartisan nonprofit called Protect Democracy has sued four federal agencies — the Office of the National Cyber Director, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Treasury Department, and the Commerce Department — demanding transparency around the Trump administration's secret framework for safety reviews of frontier AI models. The lawsuit alleges that "almost no details" have been released to the public or Congress about the review process, which companies participate, or the legal authority behind it. Protect Democracy warns that decisions about "which AI models are approved and released may be the most important policy question of this White House."

The complaint cites reports that OpenAI has "negotiated a private agreement with the Federal Government to limit distribution of its cutting-edge AI models to government-vetted partners." The group seeks an order requiring officials to produce all requested information by September 30, including the framework's text, participation terms, participant identities, and access criteria.

Protect Democracy suggests the secret framework could be "corrupt," potentially favoring AI firms preferred by Trump while retaliating against others, referencing a judge's ruling that Trump illegally blacklisted Anthropic. US Representative Greg Casar (D-Va.) accused Trump of "completely failing to keep us safe from the dangers of AI" while taking "millions from AI billionaires." California state Senator Josh Becker has also urged the court to grant the transparency request.