The U.S. Senate dealt a crushing blow to Big Tech’s dreams of escaping state regulation for artificial intelligence, voting 99-1 on Tuesday to strip out a contentious provision that would have forbidden states from regulating AI for a decade.
The provision, initially inserted into President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending bill, became the subject of intense opposition from governors, state legislators, and interest groups across parties. What started as an ambitious 10-year ban on AI regulation at the state level evolved into a partisan lightning rod that united odd-bedfellows against it.
Bipartisan Duo Sinks Federal AI Regulation Ban
The initial bill was broad in scope – it would have outright prohibited states from regulating artificial intelligence for ten years. Under intense scrutiny, lawmakers attempted to water it down by attaching it to federal funding. Only states willing to stand down on AI regulation would receive federal subsidies for broadband internet or AI infrastructure under this amended version.
When that attempt also faced criticism, Republican lawmakers tried one last time to save the bill. They offered to reduce the time frame from 10 years to five and create exemptions for certain types of AI bills, particularly those protecting children and country music performers from harmful AI tools.
But even those compromises weren’t sufficient. The proposal came to its ultimate end when an unlikely alliance was forged between Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Washington Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell, who offered an amendment to remove the entire provision from the legislation.
AI and Online Safety: States Lead the Way Amidst Congressional Inaction
Blackburn’s opposition to the action highlighted a frustrating reality for a number of legislators. As Congress has struggled to pass meaningful legislation on emerging technologies like AI and online privacy, states have filled the gap.
“It is disappointing that Congress is unable to enact new technology laws,” Blackburn stated on the Senate floor. “But you want to know who has enacted it? It is our state. They’re the ones who are safeguarding children in the virtual world. They’re the ones who are out there safeguarding our entertainers.”
This sentiment was echoed by a broad bipartisan coalition of state governors. White House press secretary during Trump’s first year, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was joined by a band of Republican governors in opposing the federal moratorium. Sanders praised Blackburn following the vote for “leading the charge” to defend states’ rights.
Battle lines had been drawn sharply between competing interests. Tech industry leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, had supported the moratorium, stating that it would be nearly impossible to make sense of 50 states’ regulations and would hamstring American businesses from competing with China.
“It is extremely hard to envision us getting through complying with 50 various sets of regulations,” Altman testified at a hearing in May.
But safety activists and bereaved parents gave a very different account. Megan Garcia, whose 14-year-old son took his own life after conversing with an AI chatbot, penned a heartfelt letter opposing the moratorium.
“The moratorium provides AI firms with what they most desire: a permit to develop and market harmful products with impunity,” Garcia wrote. “A moratorium allows firms a free hand to develop and release products to sexually groom children and promote suicide.”
Last-Minute Political Finger-Pointing and Drama
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Senate Commerce Committee chairman and former sponsor of the moratorium, tried to make a last-minute deal with Blackburn that would have spared child safety measures and Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, which bars AI from mimicking artists’ voices without their consent.
Cruz indicated the compromise was supported by President Trump, stating Trump called it “a terrific agreement.”
But when Blackburn quoted “problems with the language” and rescinded her support, the agreement dissolved.
Angered by loss, Cruz attacked several opponents, faulting everyone from China to California Governor Gavin Newsom to “radical left-wing groups.” Missing from his condemnation were the several Republican state legislators who also had opposed the measure.
The almost unanimous 99-1 vote delivered a loud message that states have announced they will not give up their sovereignty to regulate AI, regardless of what industry desires or the pressure from the federal government.
