The defeat early Tuesday of a proposed ban on state laws regulating artificial intelligence (A.I.) represents a significant setback for the tech industry, which was anticipating a policy victory.
In a decisive 99-1 vote, the Senate overwhelmingly rejected an amendment to a Republican economic policy package that sought to impose a decadelong moratorium on state-level A.I. regulations.
This early morning vote was celebrated by consumer advocacy groups and Democrats, who had expressed concerns that the amendment would eliminate any regulatory oversight of the influential A.I. sector. Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, stated, “The Senate came together tonight to say that we can’t just run over good state consumer protection laws. States can fight robocalls, deepfakes and provide safe autonomous vehicle laws.”
Currently, there are no federal laws governing A.I., but numerous states have enacted legislation aimed at enhancing consumer privacy, prohibiting A.I.-generated child sexual abuse material, and banning deepfake videos targeting political candidates. Most states have implemented some form of A.I. regulation, with all 50 states introducing related bills in the past year.
The amendment, introduced by Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, faced strong opposition from state attorneys general, child safety advocates, and consumer protection groups. Critics warned that the amendment would allow A.I. companies to develop untested and potentially hazardous technologies without oversight.
The proposed ban originated from a plan supported by Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana. The House version of the bill, approved on May 22, included the “Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology Modernization Initiative,” which proposed a 10-year moratorium on state A.I. laws.
Prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, along with A.I. startups OpenAI and Anduril, a defense technology company, actively lobbied in favor of the amendment, arguing that compliance with numerous state A.I. laws posed challenges for startups. The Trump administration also endorsed the proposal, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick emphasizing the importance of prioritizing investment and innovation to maintain American leadership in A.I.
On Sunday, a potential compromise emerged when Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, negotiated with Cruz to propose a shorter five-year moratorium. However, legal experts indicated that the compromise could undermine existing state laws. Blackburn ultimately withdrew her amendment and moved to eliminate Cruz's original proposal.
Jim Steyer, CEO of the child safety organization Common Sense Media, remarked, “The Senate did the right thing today for kids, for families and for our future by voting to strip out the dangerous 10-year ban on state A.I. laws, which had no business being in a budget bill in the first place.”