Overview
- President Trump’s executive order aims to block state AI regulations in favor of a national framework, directing federal agencies to identify state laws for challenge.
- The order creates a DOJ AI Litigation Task Force to target state statutes through lawsuits and to leverage potential penalties tied to federal broadband funds such as BEAD.
- California officials denounced the policy as unlawful and pledged to examine challenges as the state readies 2026 measures on deepfake pornography, chatbot self-harm safeguards, whistleblower protections, and a frontier-model transparency law.
- Critics including unions, child-safety advocates, and lawmakers in several states say the directive benefits major tech firms and offers no comprehensive replacement for state safeguards.
- California attorney general Rob Bonta signaled a legal review, and figures from AFL-CIO’s Liz Shuler to Steve Bannon questioned the order after earlier congressional attempts at broad preemption failed.