In April 2023, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) — the President’s principal advisor on telecommunications and information policy — issued a Request for Comment on AI accountability policy. The call drew over 1,400 responses from across the AI ecosystem. OpenMined was proud to be among them.
The resulting AI Accountability Policy Report, released in March 2024, lays out eight sets of policy recommendations spanning guidance, support, and regulation to help ensure AI systems are transparent, independently evaluated, and accountable for the risks they pose. It represents one of the most comprehensive U.S. government frameworks for trustworthy AI to date.
OpenMined’s Contribution
OpenMined’s comments directly informed the report in several key areas. We highlighted the tradeoffs inherent in AI accountability, particularly the tension between granting external access to AI systems for auditing purposes and protecting the privacy, security, and intellectual property of the parties involved. Our core argument: privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) can resolve this tension. Rather than forcing a binary choice between full access and no access, tools like PySyft enable structured transparency allowing auditors to answer specific questions about an AI system without exposing underlying data or model weights. The report specifically cites OpenMined’s advocacy for structured transparency as a mechanism to “balance access with security” and as a practical cost de-escalator for implementing accountability at scale.
Looking Ahead
As policymakers continue to shape AI governance, we believe structured transparency will be foundational to making accountability both technically feasible and economically viable. The NTIA report’s emphasis on independent evaluations, researcher access, and privacy-preserving tooling aligns directly with the infrastructure OpenMined has been building for years. We remain committed to turning these policy ideals into practice through open-source technology that serves the public interest.
Read the full NTIA AI Accountability Policy Report and learn more about our work at openmined.org.
