Executive Order 13960 — Promoting the Use of Trustworthy AI in the Federal Government
United States · Exec. Order No. 13960, 85 Fed. Reg. 78939 (Dec. 8, 2020)
President Trump's December 2020 executive order set nine principles for federal agency AI use (lawful, accurate, safe, understandable, accountable, etc.) and required each agency to publish an annual public inventory of its AI use cases. The annual AI use case inventories continued under EO 14110 (Biden) and EO 14179 (Trump-II) — making EO 13960 the foundational federal-AI-transparency baseline.
Technical detail
EO 13960 (Dec. 3, 2020), 85 Fed. Reg. 78939 — established nine principles for federal AI use; required CFO Act agencies to (1) inventory non-classified AI use cases, (2) post inventories publicly, (3) share inventories with other agencies, and (4) review existing uses for principle compliance. Implementation guidance was issued by OMB. Largely superseded by EO 14110 (Oct. 30, 2023) and subsequently EO 14179 (Jan. 20, 2025), but the AI use case inventory requirement has been retained across all three orders.
Who is protected: Public interacting with federal-agency AI
Who must comply: All federal executive-branch agencies (was)
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | United States |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Status | Repealed / replaced |
| Protection strength | Unknown |
| Effective date | 2020-12-03 |
| Enacted | 2020-12-03 |
| Citation | Exec. Order No. 13960, 85 Fed. Reg. 78939 (Dec. 8, 2020) |
| Enforced by | Office of Management and Budget |
| Private right of action | No — agency enforcement only |
| Topics | government use of AI · AI disclosure and transparency · automated decision-making |
| Last verified | 2026-06-17 |
| Official source | EO 13960 — Federal Register ↗ |
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- NAIC AI Evaluation Tool Pilot (12 states, 2026) · Proposed / pending
- FTC Proposed Policy Statement — AI Accuracy (July 2026) · Proposed / pending
Related government use of AI rules elsewhere
- CA EO N-6-26 (AI Workforce) · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Arkansas public entity AI/ADS policy mandate (Act 848, 2025) · In effect
- One-year moratorium on data center development (Inver Grove Heights MN) · In effect
- San Marcos citywide data center ban (Land Use Matrix amendme · In effect
- Washington County (MD) 12-month data center moratorium · Enacted (not yet in effect)
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