Republicans are pushing for a provision in the Senate reconciliation bill that would impose a 10-year moratorium on states' enforcement of laws regulating artificial intelligence (AI). This proposal has sparked reactions from various organizations across the country.
The National Conference of State Legislatures expressed concern, stating, "The provision represents a clear overreach that undermines cooperative federalism, jeopardizes children’s privacy and safety and risks disrupting critical infrastructure investments in communities and small businesses across the country."
Data & Society warned about potential negative outcomes: “Such a ban would preempt state efforts to, among other things, prevent the use of algorithmic technology in creating unsafe, unfair, or discriminatory outcomes in government programs; regulate landlords’ use of algorithms to set rents; and govern AI-generated non-consensual intimate imagery.”
The Institute for Family Studies highlighted the risk to existing laws: “…And it would sweep away numerous laws, in blue and red states, that prohibit the use of AI to generate pornographic deepfakes, including that of child pornography. This short count just skims the surface of the many laws in states that are at high-risk of nullification (or blockage) that are designed to protect children, families, consumers, workers, and voters from predatory and anti-social uses of AI.”
According to the National Fair Housing Alliance, “This harmful provision goes far beyond the purported intent of encouraging innovation and instead raises well-placed fears that a state’s consumers would become merely the raw materials to feed AI training models, would be the victims of unfettered AI experimentation, and would be subjected to harm with no recourse.”
The Consumer Federation of America criticized the measure as favoring big tech companies: “This extreme measure is a clear gift to Big Tech at the expense of everyday people. Barring states from regulating AI that harms their residents should be a complete nonstarter for lawmakers who want to put the people they represent over the profits of tech companies.”
Encode AI emphasized existing vulnerabilities: “By wiping out state AI legislation, Congress would leave millions of Americans vulnerable to harms that are already happening—from deepfake pornography to AI-driven fraud. Just a few years ago we could not have imagined deepfake porn flooding our communities or AI-driven scams exploiting vulnerable seniors, but without state action victims everywhere would still be vulnerable. We must protect the ability of our state legislators to respond to the rapidly emerging risks from AI.”
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters voiced concerns about worker impacts: “The proposed moratorium on state level regulation or legislation of artificial intelligence currently contained in the Commerce Committee's draft reconciliation title is a disaster for communities and working people. It is an attempt to give special Congressionally-sanctioned treatment to a select few to the detriment of American workers and the public.”
Just Security stressed democratic values: “If the United States wants to lead in AI, it must do so by upholding its democratic values and building systems people trust—not by sidelining institutions best positioned to govern responsibly. Congress has yet to meaningfully regulate AI in the private sector and is unlikely to do so in near future. Meanwhile states across country have stepped into vacuum—enacting laws aimed at promoting transparency accountability consumer protection across critical domains including education employment housing healthcare more.”
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei offered an op-ed perspective: “But a 10-year moratorium is far too blunt an instrument. A.I. is advancing too head-spinningly fast. I believe these systems could change world fundamentally within two years; in 10 years all bets off. Without clear plan for federal response moratorium give us worst both worlds — no ability for states act no national policy backstop.”
Public Citizen raised concerns about public safety: “This backdoor preemption not only forces states into impossible choice between protecting their residents providing broadband access but also undermines public safety privacy democratic governance just as AI harms accelerating.”
