EPIC Opposes Revised AI State Law Moratorium in Senate Bill

Earlier today, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced a proposed compromise on the proposed moratorium on state AI laws contained in the Senate’s reconciliation bill.

Senator Blackburn had previously expressed concern over the moratorium and the effect it would have on laws such as Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, which protects artists’ voices from the misuse of artificial intelligence, as well as CSAM-related laws.

However, the proposed compromise arguably still means that states could not enforce these types of laws as it exempts only laws that do not pose an “undue or disproportionate burden” on AI or “algorithmic decision systems.” By necessity, many laws that protect people from AI-driven harms (such as the ELVIS Act) put a “disproportionate burden” on AI systems.

“The multiple iterations of the AI state law moratorium demonstrate that, at the end of the day, members of Congress recognize that a sweeping ban on state-level AI regulation simply does not work,” said Caitriona Fitzgerald, Deputy Director at EPIC. “The Senate should remove this unworkable provision from the bill rather than trying to prevent states from protecting their constituents from the AI-driven harms that Congress has failed to regulate.”

“A 5-year ban on state legislators’ ability to pass AI laws is a gift to Big Tech, allowing them to continue building the unproven, discriminatory AI systems that are already harming Americans,” said Alan Butler, Executive Director at EPIC. “We’ve seen this playbook before – AI developers will then tell Congress that their systems are too complex to regulate. States are already acting to prevent AI-driven harms, and Congress must reject this proposal to preserve states’ rights to enact laws that protect their residents.”