Stop the State AI Regulation Ban in the Budget Reconciliation Bill

On May 11th, Republicans in the House Energy & Commerce committee added language to their portion of the partisan budget reconciliation bill that would prohibit state governments from making or enforcing any laws regulating artificial intelligence (AI) for the next 10 years. Though more than 30 states have passed laws that regulate dangerous aspects of AI, such as the creation of deepfakes and nonconsensual/child pornography, these laws could not be enforced if the reconciliation bill passes with this language.

The Trump administration has already rolled back several Biden-era laws that sought to regulate the use of AI, continuing its course of putting the rights of big tech companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Google above the rights of U.S. consumers. Tech safety groups like The Tech Oversight Project have spoken out against the deregulation of AI and how this provision “will kneecap states’ ability to protect people and children from proven AI harms and scams.” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9) has said that the provision would allow tech companies to “ignore consumer privacy protections” and “profile and deceive” users, especially as it is unknown what advancements in AI technology will occur over the next 10 years. Additionally, the sneaky inclusion of this provision into a bill designated for spending and budget issues leads opponents to question “whether this is politically viable, or even legal.”

The approval of this bill with its AI provision would give unprecedented power to big tech companies. Demand that your representatives oppose this destructive budget reconciliation bill and the Republicans’ attempts to prioritize corporations over people.