The Big Beautiful Bill, a tax and spending package that Senate Republicans are rushing to approve, contains an odd clause that has sparked controversy: a 10-year ban on states enacting their own artificial intelligence regulations.
Because Congress has been sluggish to enact regulations on AI, a fast developing technology, states are left to enact their own legislation. The majority of the state laws are aimed at preventing certain damages, such as prohibiting the use of deepfake technology to produce nonconsensual pornography, inform voters about particular issues or candidates, or imitate the voices of musicians without their consent.
Some of the biggest firms in the U.S. artificial intelligence sector have said that a variety of state regulations unduly hinder the technology, particularly as the country looks to compete with China. States are a vital safeguard against a dangerous technology that may have unidentified negative effects in the coming ten years, according to a broad spectrum of opponents, including some well-known Republican politicians, child safety experts, and civil rights organizations.
The Trump administration has been certain about easing restrictions on the development of AI. In his first week in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to repeal “existing AI policies and directives that act as barriers to American AI innovation” and loosen regulations on the technology.
During an AI meeting in Paris in February, Vice President JD Vance made it plain that the Trump administration’s goal was to put AI dominance over regulation.
However, a Pew Research Center research conducted in April revealed that a far greater number of Americans who are not experts in AI are more worried about the hazards of AI than its possible advantages.
Larry Norden, vice president of the Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center, a nonprofit organization affiliated with New York University that promotes democratic causes, told that Congress has recently demonstrated its inability to accomplish anything in this area.
As far as I’m aware, it is unusual for us to take the step of declaring that we are doing nothing and that we will stop the states from taking any action. It’s quite risky, especially with the stakes involved,” Norden said.
The proposal in the omnibus plan was offered by the Senate Commerce Committee, which is led by Texas Republican Ted Cruz. Cruz’s office deferred comment to the committee, which has issued an explainer stating that, under the proposed rule, states that want a share of a significant federal investment in AI must “pause any enforcement of any state restrictions, as specified, related to AI models, AI systems, or automated decision systems for ten years.”
The Senate Parliamentarian stated on Friday that, while some sections of the One Big Beautiful law Act require a 60-vote barrier to stay in the law, the AI moratorium does not. Senate Republicans say they intend to vote on the bill on Saturday.
All Senate Democrats are anticipated to oppose the omnibus bill. However, other Republicans, notably Sens. Josh Hawley of Arkansas, Jerry Moran of Kansas, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, have expressed opposition to the ban on states establishing AI legislation.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a strong supporter of Trump, wrote on X earlier this month that she was unaware that the House version of the measure would prevent states from enacting their own AI legislation when she signed it.
Full transparency, she did not know about this section, Greene wrote. They have no idea what AI will be capable of in the next 10 years and giving it free rein and tying states’ hands is potentially dangerous.
Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who serves on the Commerce Committee, has stated that she is against the 10-year moratorium.
In a statement sent to NBC News, she stated, “We cannot forbid states nationwide from safeguarding Americans, including the thriving creative community in Tennessee, from the dangers of artificial intelligence.” Congress has failed for decades to enact laws that would regulate the virtual world and shield weaker people from Big Tech’s abuses.
Both party attorneys general and state legislators are against the AI clause. 260 state lawmakers put their “strong opposition” to the moratorium in an open letter. The letter states that “state policymakers must continue to be able to respond to the profound public policy questions that AI will bring up over the next ten years.”
Likewise, 40 state attorneys general from both parties sent a letter to Congress expressing their objection to the clause. According to their letter, “such a broad moratorium would have sweeping and completely destructive effects on reasonable state efforts to prevent known harms associated with AI.”
149 current state laws would be overturned as a result of the moratorium, according to a Brennan Center study.
Sarah Meyers West, co-executive director of the AI Now Institute, a nonprofit that aims to shape AI for the public good, told that state regulators are attempting to enforce the law to protect their citizens and have implemented common sense regulations that are trying to protect the worst kinds of harms that are coming to them from their constituents.
They claim that before we can safeguard individuals against AI abuses, we must wait ten years. They are live. She stated that individuals are now being impacted by them.
The prohibition, according to AI and tech firms like Google and Microsoft, is required to maintain the industry’s competitiveness with China.
According to Chris Lehane, chief global affairs officer of OpenAI, there is increasing realization that the present patchwork approach to regulating AI is ineffective and will only get worse if we continue down this route. He posted this on LinkedIn. Vladimir Putin has stated that the outcome will dictate the future course of the globe.
Microsoft’s corporate vice president of U.S. government affairs, Fred Humphries, stated in an emailed statement that we cannot afford to wake up to a world in which 50 states have implemented 50 divergent approaches to AI safety and security.
In favor of the moratorium, the Chamber of Commerce, a pro-business organization, published a statement signed by the Meat Institute and the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
This year, more than 1,000 measures pertaining to AI have already been proposed at the state and local levels. They stated that the absence of a federal ban will result in an increasing patchwork of state and municipal regulations that will severely restrict the advancement and use of AI.
The American Civil Liberties Union, digital rights organizations, the NAACP, and other civil rights organizations have all signed an open letter opposing the bill, urging states to enact their own AI legislation.
The letter claims that the moratorium could prevent states from enforcing civil rights laws that already forbid algorithmic discrimination, have an effect on consumer protection laws by restricting consumers’ and state attorneys general’s ability to take legal action against bad actors, and end consumer privacy laws entirely.
On Tuesday, the charity National Center on Sexual Exploitation voiced opposition to the ban, pointing out the ways in which AI has been exploited to sexually exploit minors.
“AI technology is already being used to groom and extort minors, as well as to create child sex abuse content,” said Haley McNamara, senior vice president of strategic initiatives and programs for the group.
As a Trojan horse, the budget bill’s AI embargo will put a halt to governmental initiatives to prevent sexual exploitation and other negative effects of AI. According to McNamara, if this clause is approved, it would further weaponize AI for sexual exploitation, which is incredibly reckless.
