JAKARTA A Republican proposal that aims to ban states from regulating artificial intelligence (AI) for 10 years has drawn sharp resistance from state attorneys generals. Opponents, both Democratic and Republican, warned that this move could jeopardize consumer protection amid rapid technological developments.
The proposal is included in the draft tax cuts law of President Donald Trump. If passed, the law will thwart various AI regulations that have been implemented in dozens of US states.
A total of 40 state attorneys generals, including Ohio, Tennessee, Arkansas, Utah, and Virginia, sent a letter to Congress on Friday, May 16, requesting that the ban be lifted ahead of a House budget committee hearing scheduled for Sunday evening.
"Stipulating a broad moratorium against all state actions, while Congress itself does not act in this field, is an irresponsible act and robs consumers of reasonable protection," they said in a statement.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta also signed the letter. California is the headquarters of major AI companies such as OpenAI, Alphabet (Google), Meta Platforms, and Anthropic.
I strongly oppose any attempt to prohibit states from developing and enforcing reasonable regulations. The state must be able to protect its citizens from the impact of AI technology on developing," Bonta said.
California itself has implemented a series of laws related to the use of AI, including bans on digitally making sexual images without consent, bans on deepfakes in political advertising, and the necessity of healthcare providers to notify patients if they are interacting with AI, not humans. The state also prohibits health insurance companies (HMOs) from using AIs to replace doctors in determining patient medical needs.
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However, Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Jay Obernolte representing Silicon Valley, stated that this ban is important to give the federal government greater control over the implementation of national AI. The bill also allocates $ 500 million in funds for AI implementation.
"It doesn't make sense if we allow more than 1,000 draft laws on AI from the state to be enacted, while the federal government is trying to create a national framework," Feinolte said.
Google, one of the companies directly affected by state regulations, supports the moratorium and calls it an "an important first step to protecting national security and ensuring American AI leadership."
However, the proposal still has to go through major challenges in the Senate, including escaping the budget reconciliation process which is usually only used for legislation related to the state budget.
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