US Commerce Department Deletes Website Details of Microsoft, Google, and xAI Security-Test Deal
May 12, 2026 – 9:15 am
The US Commerce Department has removed from its website the details of an agreement under which Microsoft, Google, and xAI agreed to submit new AI models to government scientists for security testing before release, as reported by Reuters on Monday.
The original page, posted on May 5th, stated that the three companies would hand over their cutting-edge AI systems to the department’s testing team to assess vulnerabilities to cyberattacks, potential military misuse, and national security risks prior to public deployment.
By Monday afternoon Washington time, the link returned a "Sorry, we cannot find that page" error message; it was subsequently redirected to the website of the Center for AI Standards and Innovation, the government body overseeing the tests.
This center is housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), part of the Department of Commerce. The renaming and shift in focus followed an executive order that scaled back the previous administration’s AI-safety architecture and pivoted the institute’s mission towards standards and industry coordination instead of safety evaluation.
Reuters reported that neither the Commerce Department nor the Trump White House immediately responded to comment requests regarding the removal of the page. There is no public statement from Microsoft, Google, or xAI on the change.
The May 5th announcement was seen at the time as a significant commitment by the three companies to pre-deployment government review and an indication of growing federal concern about national security risks posed by powerful AI systems. The deal followed the Trump administration’s removal of Anthropic from a Pentagon AI contract over alleged safety constraints; Anthropic was not named in the Commerce Department testing program.
The deletion does not necessarily mean the program has been canceled. The Center for AI Standards and Innovation continues to operate, and the redirected webpage suggests that the relationship between agencies and the three companies remains intact at an operational level. However, several federal officials have publicly expressed doubts about granting the government access to cutting-edge AI models pre-release due to potential targets for nation-state cyber espionage.
This story is significant as a signal. The Commerce Department’s removal of a positive AI safety announcement from its public website without explanation will be interpreted by critics and supporters alike of US AI policy as evidence of internal disagreement about how the government should engage with cutting-edge AI labs.
Industry observers considered the original May 5th announcement a stable element of the new administration’s AI policy stance. Microsoft, Google, and xAI did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta, and other large model providers were not part of the initial announcement and have remained silent on the deletion.
The Center for AI Standards and Innovation‘s website, where the redirect now leads, includes general information about their mission and activities.