BLADE Act

The Blocking Large-scale Adversarial Distillation Efforts Act of 2026, or BLADE Act, seeks to safeguard United States national security and economic interests by preventing foreign adversaries from illicitly acquiring proprietary information from U.S.-owned, closed-source artificial intelligence models. The bill defines a closed-source artificial intelligence model as one with proprietary technical information, governed by terms of service, and accessed via owner-controlled interfaces. A model extraction attack is specified as the unauthorized replication or training of another AI model by circumventing controls, using fraudulent credentials, or violating terms of service, distinguishing it from legitimate research. The bill also defines countries of concern , including China and Russia, and persons of concern as foreign entities linked to these countries or engaged in such attacks. The Act mandates the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with other agencies, to conduct an assessment within 180 days of enactment to identify persons of concern engaged in model extraction attacks or acting as fraudulent account network providers . This assessment will determine the origins of attacks, identify government assistance to attackers, analyze methods, and evaluate the economic and national security consequences of successful extractions. The Secretary must consult with affected AI model owners, academic experts, and industry to inform best practices for detection and defense. A report detailing these findings will be submitted to Congress, with annual updates, and a public AI Model Extraction Attackers List will be maintained. To deter these activities, the bill requires that identified persons of concern, including their subsidiaries, be added to the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List within 210 days. Furthermore, the President is mandated to block and prohibit all transactions and property interests of these identified persons of concern under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Exceptions are provided for humanitarian assistance and authorized intelligence or national security activities. The President may also issue waivers under specific conditions, requiring a certification to Congress, and violations are subject to severe penalties.