As Congress pushes to finalize President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” concerns surrounding its “AI moratorium” have surged. This provision initially proposed a 10-year halt on state regulations regarding artificial intelligence but has faced strong backlash, leading Senator Marsha Blackburn to retract her support for a revised version.
The proposal had garnered widespread criticism from various political factions, including 40 state attorneys general and far-right representatives like Marjorie Taylor Greene. In response, Blackburn and Senator Ted Cruz introduced a new iteration of the moratorium that reduced the duration to five years and included several exemptions. However, this modification was quickly labeled a “get-out-of-jail-free card” for major tech companies, prompting Blackburn to abandon her compromise.
Blackburn expressed her dissatisfaction with the adjusted provision, stating it could allow Big Tech to exploit individuals. She stressed the need for robust federal legislation to safeguard against potential abuses of AI, indicating that without it, states should retain the authority to enact their own protective measures.
Initially skeptical about the moratorium, Blackburn’s stance shifted multiple times throughout the legislative process. Her proposed exceptions for certain state laws reflected her commitment to protecting the music industry, a significant sector in her home state of Tennessee.
Despite these adjustments, opposition from numerous organizations persisted, arguing the updated provision could still hinder vital regulations related to safety and privacy. Critics, including Senator Maria Cantwell, feared that the language enabling states to craft laws would still create loopholes favoring AI systems, thereby complicating accountability.
Advocacy groups noted that even with the carve-outs, the new provision appears overly broad and potentially detrimental to state-level children’s safety regulations. Warnings were issued that the language could act as a "Trojan horse," eliminating existing state protections under the guise of allowing some regulatory efforts.
In a surprising development, Blackburn and Cantwell collaborated to propose a new amendment to completely remove the AI moratorium from the bill, signaling an unexpected unity against the provision’s implications. The administration aims for a swift vote on the bill, compounding the urgency of nuanced discussions around AI regulation in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
