(WASHINGTON) — This weekend, Senate Republicans released the latest version of the moratorium on state-level regulations of Artificial Intelligence and automated decision systems, attempting to appease some of their members’ concerns about the effect of the ban on laws passed in their states and changing its length from ten years to five.
This newest version requires states seeking additional BEAD funding to comply with the moratorium, creating serious chilling effects for states that want to ensure they keep their funding. In an attempt to clarify the provision that allows generally-applicable laws to persist, the new language actually further limits the exemption to laws that do not unduly or disproportionately burden AI systems and models. This new provision opens the door to protracted, time-consuming litigation where states and courts will have to decide, state-law-by-state-law, which of those laws burden AI systems. Such broad, vague language will endanger the ability of states and localities to create rules around their own use of these tools, ensure the integrity of their elections, and protect their constituents from fraud and abuse. The Center for Democracy and Technology continues to oppose this ill-conceived attempt to remove state-level oversight of AI.
Alexandra Reeve Givens, President and CEO of CDT, issued the following statement:
“Enough is enough. We’ve seen many versions of the AI moratorium now, and all of them would hobble states’ efforts to protect people from potentially devastating AI harms. Despite the multiple revisions of this policy, it’s clear that its drafters are not considering the moratorium’s full implications. Congress should abandon this attempt to stifle the efforts of state and local officials who are grappling with the implications of this rapidly developing technology, and should stop abdicating its own responsibility to protect the American people from the real harms that these systems have been shown to cause.”
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The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is the leading nonpartisan, nonprofit organization fighting to advance civil rights and civil liberties in the digital age. We shape technology policy, governance, and design with a focus on equity and democratic values. Established in 1994, CDT has been a trusted advocate for digital rights since the earliest days of the internet. The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has a Europe Office in Brussels, Belgium.