On Sunday, news broke that the White House is pressuring Utah’s state legislature to abandon kids’ online safety and AI transparency legislation. The move comes as the White House’s AI Czar David Sacks works to implement a recent executive order aimed at preempting state AI laws. Despite promises to leave kids safety legislation untouched, the effort to preempt Utah’s Republican-led kids safety bill suggests that the Administration’s preemption work will target a broad range of AI safeguards in both red and blue states.
“David Sacks has taken a maximalist approach to banning state AI laws and giving amnesty to Big Tech,” said ARI President Brad Carson. “While we’ve heard lip service about the need to protect kids online, this letter is more proof that Sacks will steamroll any law that gets in tech’s way. State lawmakers who’ve been working for years to protect young people online deserve better than a one-line note from the White House trying to spike their efforts.”
The Utah legislation targeted by the Administration would require leading AI models to establish a comprehensive child safety plan, implement whistleblower protections, and outline how they are mitigating cyber security threats. Without providing clarity on its legal justification, a White House memo to the Utah legislature warns, “We are categorically opposed to Utah HB 286 and view it as an unfixable bill that goes against the Administration’s AI Agenda.”
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Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy advocacy in the public interest, focused on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). Learn more at ARI.us.
