President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that aims to block state regulations with the goal of creating a national framework for the tech industry to follow.
The Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence executive order says the tech industry must be «free to innovate without cumbersome regulation» as state regulations are creating a patchwork of laws. The order calls out states like Colorado for demanding AI models account for «ideological bias,» which the administration says can lead to «false results» that impact protected groups. The order also says that some state laws regulate beyond state borders, infringing on interstate commerce, which is the domain of the federal government.
The order says it shall ensure that «children are protected, censorship is prevented, copyrights are respected, and communities are safeguarded.» The executive order says it won’t target «lawful state AI laws,» which include child safety protections, data center permitting reforms, government procurement and use of AI, with «other topics as shall be determined.» Beyond that, the order is slim on exact details of what the administration would ultimately try to enforce in regards to AI.
The administration will set up an AI litigation task force within the next 30 days with the goal of challenging state laws. Within the next 90 days, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick must publish a report on existing state laws that go against the executive order or violate the First Amendment, as well as any other parts of the Constitution. The order may also withhold broadband development funding from states.
The executive order is a follow-up to a Truth Social post by the president on Monday.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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«On the heels of Congress correctly deciding for the second time not to pass legislation that would ban states from regulating artificial intelligence, the president should recognize that this is a misguided, unpopular, and dangerous policy choice,» Travis Hall, director for state engagement at the Center for Democracy & Technology, told CNET in a statement.
Hall said the states need to be allowed to safeguard their citizens.
«The power to preempt rests firmly with Congress, and no executive order can change that,» he said. «State lawmakers have an important role to play in protecting their constituents from AI systems that are untrustworthy or unaccountable. They should remain steadfast in responding to the real and documented harms of these systems.»
The report of a new executive order comes as states have been attempting to regulate AI, particularly as the technology infiltrates all aspects of technology and society, with Congress and the Executive Branch seeking to push back.
Some states have passed laws making it a crime to create sexual images of people without their consent. Others have placed restrictions on insurance companies using AI to approve or deny health care claims. Currently, Congress hasn’t passed any legislation regulating AI on a national scale.
Last month, 35 states and the District of Columbia urged Congress not to block state laws regarding AI regulation, warning of «disastrous consequences.» Congress ultimately chose not to interfere earlier this month. Companies, including Google, Meta, OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz, have been calling for national AI standards rather than litigating across all 50 states.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)