Trump promises to block AI laws at the state level

Photo Credit: Igor Omilaev

Trump wants to enact ‘one rule’ to rule all AI legislation across the US to prevent state-specific laws surrounding artificial intelligence.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform on Monday that he would sign an executive order this week to create a single national rule for artificial intelligence. The move would deliver a critical blow to the entertainment sector, but a major win for Big Tech companies that have been cultivating close relationships with the administration.

“There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI… I will be doing a ONE RULE Executive Order this week. You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.

While Trump did not provide specific details about such an order, Reuters reported last month that the president was considering an executive order to “preempt state laws on artificial intelligence through lawsuits and by withholding federal funding.”

Tech companies including ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Google, and Meta, as well as venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, have all called for national AI standards instead of a “50-state patchwork” of laws, which they claim would “stifle innovation.” The companies argue that the U.S. will fall further behind China on AI development if states are allowed to regulate the technology piecemeal.

However, state leaders from both major political parties have stressed the need for AI guardrails. Several, including Florida, California, and Tennessee, have introduced legislation that includes stipulations surrounding everything from data privacy, parental controls, consumer protections, nonconsensual sexual imagery, unauthorized deepfakes, and more.

But last month, Trump called on Congress to add language to an upcoming defense bill blocking state AI laws. That proposal has faced pushback from Republican and Democratic state lawmakers and attorneys general alike.

“Congress can’t fail to create real safeguards and then block the states from stepping up,” said North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a Democrat.

“An executive order doesn’t/can’t preempt state legislative action,” said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican. “Congress could theoretically preempt states through legislation.”

“The problem is that Congress hasn’t proposed any coherent regulatory scheme but instead just wanted to block states from doing anything for 10 years, which would be an AI amnesty,” DeSantis continued. “I doubt Congress has the votes to pass this because it is so unpopular with the public.”

DeSantis, a vocal advocate for states to take action in crafting AI restrictions, wants a “bill of rights” featuring AI protections for consumers and residents—such as preventing utility companies from charging residents more when tech companies build massive data centers. To that end, Florida lawmakers have introduced several AI-focused bills and are expected to introduce more in January.

But moves like these will hinge very much on what Trump’s executive order will look like.