Republicans are trying to enact a controversial provision in the Senate reconciliation bill imposing a sweeping 10-year moratorium on States’ enforcement of laws “limiting, restricting, or otherwise regulating” artificial intelligence (AI). Below are just a sample of the reactions to this proposal from organizations across the country.  

1. “The provision represents a clear overreach that undermines cooperative federalism, jeopardizes children’s privacy and safety and risks disrupting critical infrastructure investments in communities and small businesses across the country.” - National Conference of State Legislatures    

2. “Such a ban would preempt state efforts to, among other things, prevent the use of algorithmic technology in creating unsafe, unfair, or discriminatory outcomes in government programs; regulate landlords’ use of algorithms to set rents; and govern AI-generated non-consensual intimate imagery”. - Data & Society  

3. “…And it would sweep away numerous laws, in blue and red states, that prohibit the use of AI to generate pornographic deepfakes, including that of child pornography. This short count just skims the surface of the many laws in states that are at high-risk of nullification (or blockage) that are designed to protect children, families, consumers, workers, and voters from predatory and anti-social uses of AI.” - Institute for Family Studies   

4. “This harmful provision goes far beyond the purported intent of encouraging innovation and instead raises well-placed fears that a state’s consumers would become merely the raw materials to feed AI training models, would be the victims of unfettered AI experimentation, and would be subjected to harm with no recourse.” - National Fair Housing Alliance   

5. “This extreme measure is a clear gift to Big Tech at the expense of everyday people. Barring states from regulating AI that harms their residents should be a complete nonstarter for lawmakers who want to put the people they represent over the profits of tech companies.” - Consumer Federation of America   

6. “By wiping out state AI legislation, Congress would leave millions of Americans vulnerable to harms that are already happening—from deepfake pornography to AI-driven fraud. Just a few years ago we could not have imagined deepfake porn flooding our communities or AI-driven scams exploiting vulnerable seniors, but without state action victims everywhere would still be vulnerable. We must protect the ability of our state legislators to respond to the rapidly emerging risks from AI.” - Encode AI  

7. “The proposed moratorium on state level regulation or legislation of artificial intelligence currently contained in the Commerce Committee's draft reconciliation title is a disaster for communities and working people. It is an attempt to give special Congressionally-sanctioned treatment to a select few to the detriment of the American workers and the public.” – International Brotherhood of Teamsters  

8. “If the United States wants to lead in AI, it must do so by upholding its democratic values and building systems people trust—not by sidelining the institutions best positioned to govern responsibly. Congress has yet to meaningfully regulate AI in the private sector and is unlikely to do so in the near future. Meanwhile, states across the country have stepped into the vacuum—enacting laws aimed at promoting transparency, accountability, and consumer protection across critical domains including education, employment, housing, healthcare, and more.” - Just Security  

9. “But a 10-year moratorium is far too blunt an instrument. A.I. is advancing too head-spinningly fast. I believe that these systems could change the world, fundamentally, within two years; in 10 years, all bets are off. Without a clear plan for a federal response, a moratorium would give us the worst of both worlds — no ability for states to act, and no national policy as a backstop.” – Op-Ed by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei 
10. “This backdoor preemption not only forces states into an impossible choice between protecting their residents and providing broadband access, but also undermines public safety, privacy, and democratic governance just as AI harms are accelerating.” - Public Citizen