WASHINGTON—In response to reports of Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) negotiations with the White House to preempt state AI laws in exchange for advancing legislation such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), App Store Accountability Act (ASAA), and NO FAKES Act, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, issued the following statement from Senior Policy Manager Ash Johnson:
Pairing federal preemption of state AI laws with separate children’s online safety and digital replica bills could sabotage the ongoing debate surrounding each of these issues.
The White House’s proposed preemption would rectify a mistake Congress made last year when it removed a 10-year moratorium on state AI laws from its spending bill. Preempting state AI laws would prevent regulatory fragmentation and enable the innovation America needs to compete in the global AI race, while allowing existing laws and regulations that are flexible enough to govern AI effectively to continue to do so.
However, tying preemption to bills Congress is still actively debating, all of which contain flaws that would hinder innovation instead of enabling it, is taking one step forward and several steps back. Congress should enact federal preemption of state AI laws on its own while continuing to iron out its approach to children’s online safety and digital replicas.
