Examples of Regulated Things
- - Background
  - Examples

Examples of Regulated Things

Published: 19 October, 2023; Last Updated: 19 October, 2023.

This page is in an early draft. It is very incomplete and may contain errors.

Governments regulate many things.

Background

Some AI policy proposals involve regulating the hardware used to train and run AI models. To better understand how this could work, it might be useful to look at how other things have been regulated.

This page consists of a list of regulated things that might be relevant for thinking about how to regulate hardware.

Examples

The list below contains the following columns:

What: The thing that is being regulated.
Who: What level of government has passed and enforces the regulated.
How Much: Many regulations only apply if someone owns more than a certain amount of the regulated thing. X-ray machines are unusual in that the creation method for the x-rays is regulated, rather than the amount of x-rays produced.
Type: Some regulations put a limit on the maximum amount someone can own before more stringent regulations apply. For others, someone can buy more than that, but it requires a license or a prescription from someone with a license. Regulations can also require the owner to register any of the regulated thing.
Source: A link to further information.

What	Who	How Much	Type	Source
Acetone	US	150 kg	license	https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/orangebook/j_chemlist_regulated.pdf
Natural uranium	US	1.5 kg	limit	https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part040/part040-0022.html
Materials with uranium	US	0.05%	limit	https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part040/part040-0013.html
Fireworks	US	400 g	limit	https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/approvals-and-permits/hazmat/energetic-materials-approvals/18296/safetyguidancefortheclassificationofanaerialshellkit.pdf
Distilling equipment	US	1 gallon	limit	https://www.ttb.gov/distilled-spirits/distilled-spirits-faqs
Trash fires	California	4' x 4'	limit	https://burnpermit.fire.ca.gov/before-you-burn/
Chickens	San Francisco	4	limit	https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_health/0-0-0-43#JD_37
Guns	US	0.5“ diameter	limit	https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php
Metal foundries	US	10,000 tons / year	limit	https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-63/subpart-ZZZZZ
Motor vehicles	California	any	registration	https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/california-driver-handbook/vehicle-registration-requirements/
Motor vehicles	California	26,000 lb GVWR	limit	https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/commercial-driver-handbook/california-driver-license-classes/
Ibuprofen	US	200 mg / tablet	prescription
Drones	US	0.55 lb	registration	https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/register_drone
Pseudoephedrine	US	7.5 grams / 30 days	limit	https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/meth/pl109_177.pdf

Primary authors: Rick Korzekwa and Jeffrey Heninger.

Table of Contents

Examples of Regulated Things

Background

Examples