Overview
- Signed Dec. 11, the executive order directs the Justice Department to set up an AI Litigation Task Force within 30 days and asks the Commerce Department to flag “onerous” state laws within 90 days with an eye to conditioning BEAD broadband funds.
- The order also asks the FCC to weigh a federal reporting standard that could preempt conflicting state rules and tells the FTC to issue guidance on when state mandates that alter “truthful outputs” are preempted under the FTC Act.
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the order cannot block states from regulating and vowed to advance a Florida AI Bill of Rights focused on child protections, disclosure, and misuse of name, image, and likeness; the order exempts child-safety laws.
- Time reports growing Republican resistance as officials in states such as Utah and Texas signal they will defend their statutes, setting up likely court battles over federal spending conditions, preemption, and the Dormant Commerce Clause.
- Legal analysts say the order does not itself nullify state laws, companies should continue complying with state regimes for now, and the move follows a year in which dozens of states enacted AI rules as industry groups pressed for a uniform national standard.