Big Tech Seeks 10-Year Ban On State AI Laws

Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta are pushing for a 10-year ban on U.S. states creating their own AI laws, a move that’s causing a major rift across the tech industry and the Republican party.

The Financial Times (FT) reports that the companies use INCOMPAS lobbyists to request the Senate add the moratorium to President Donald Trump’s budget bill. The House passed the measure last month.

“This is the right policy at the right time for American leadership,” Chip Pickering, INCOMPAS CEO and a former congressman, said to FT. “But it’s equally important in the race against China,” he added.

The AI Competition Center (AICC), launched in 2024, received support from Amazon’s cloud division, and Meta through INCOMPAS, says FT. The main objective is to prevent state-by-state regulations, which Big Tech claims will divide the U.S. market while allowing China to become the global leader in AI. FT reports that supporters maintain that the United States needs to prevent itself from becoming inferior to other nations.

But critics aren’t buying it. “Responsible innovation shouldn’t fear laws that ban irresponsible practices,” said Asad Ramzanali of Vanderbilt University, as reported by FT. Similarly, MIT’s Max Tegmark called it “a power grab by tech bro-ligarchs attempting to concentrate yet more wealth and power,” reported FT.

The Republican Party faces internal opposition to this proposal, as reported by FT. Senate members Josh Hawley and Marsha Blackburn stand against the moratorium, but Thom Tillis and Steve Daines support it, citing that they fear that state-by-state regulations will create a fragmented system.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned it would be “disastrous” to require companies to meet safety standards before launch, as noted by FT.  However, AI safety experts who support regulation argue that uncontrolled AI power growth threatens significant social damage to society.