{"id":8252,"date":"2025-12-12T22:12:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T22:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/12\/12\/watch-trump-signs-executive-order-to-override-ai-regulations-by-states-pbs\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T22:12:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T22:12:33","slug":"watch-trump-signs-executive-order-to-override-ai-regulations-by-states-pbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/12\/12\/watch-trump-signs-executive-order-to-override-ai-regulations-by-states-pbs\/","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: Trump signs executive order to override AI regulations by states – PBS"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday pressuring states not to regulate\u00a0artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

Watch Trump\u2019s remarks in the video player above.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trump and some Republicans argue that the limited regulations already enacted by states, and others that might follow, will dampen innovation and growth for the technology.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Critics from both political parties \u2014 as well as civil liberties and consumer rights groups \u2014 worry that banning state regulation would amount to a favor for big AI companies, who enjoy little to no oversight and that Trump\u2019s effort oversteps the limits of presidential power.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know about states\u2019 AI regulations and what Trump signed.<\/p>\n

What state-level regulations exist and why<\/h2>\n

Four states \u2014 Colorado, California, Utah and Texas \u2014 have passed laws that set some rules for AI across the private sector, according to the International Association of Privacy Professionals.<\/p>\n

Those laws include limiting the collection of certain personal information and requiring more transparency from companies.<\/p>\n

The laws are in response to AI that already pervades everyday life. The technology helps make consequential decisions for Americans, including who gets a job interview, a home loan and even certain medical care. But research has shown that it can make mistakes in those decisions, including by prioritizing a particular gender or race.<\/p>\n

WATCH:<\/strong> AI content supercharges confusion and spreads misleading information, critics warn<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWith a human, I can say, \u2018Hey, explain, how did you come to that conclusion, what factors did you consider?\u2019\u201d said Calli Schroeder, director of the AI & Human Rights Program at the public interest group EPIC. \u201cWith an AI, I can\u2019t ask any of that, and I can\u2019t find that out. And frankly, half the time the programmers of the AI couldn\u2019t answer that question.\u201d<\/p>\n

States\u2019 more ambitious AI regulation proposals require private companies to provide transparency and assess the possible risks of discrimination from their AI programs.<\/p>\n

Beyond those more sweeping rules, many states have regulated\u00a0parts of AI: barring the use of deepfakes in elections and to\u00a0create nonconsensual porn, for example, or putting rules in place around the government\u2019s own use of AI.<\/p>\n

What the executive order seeks to do<\/h2>\n

The executive order directs federal agencies to identify burdensome state AI regulations and pressure states not to enact them by withholding federal funding, such as for broadband, or challenging the state laws in court.<\/p>\n

It would also begin a process to develop a lighter-touch regulatory framework for the whole country that would override state AI laws.<\/p>\n

It does not seek to preempt some laws states have adopted, such as AI-related child safety protections and provisions on how state governments can procure and use AI.<\/p>\n

Trump argues that the patchwork of regulations across 50 states impedes AI companies\u2019 growth and allows China to catch up to the U.S. in the AI race. The president has also said state regulations are producing \u201cWoke AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are the concerns around the order?<\/h2>\n

Groups that advocate for consumer rights and tech regulation are sounding the alarm on Trump\u2019s executive order, arguing it allows Big Tech \u201cto operate in a vacuum of accountability,\u201d as the nonprofit Issue One put it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter spending millions of dollars on lobbying \u2014 including massive\u00a0donations for the new White House ballroom<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Big Tech has successfully leveraged those around the president to pass a federal moratorium that aims to wipe out bipartisan AI safeguards passed in both blue and red states,\u201d said Liana Keesing, Issue One\u2019s policy lead for technology reform. AI-driven scams and discriminatory price-fixing are just some of the harms the state laws are trying to prevent, she added.<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s advocacy groups also expressed deep concerns for the generations that are\u00a0growing up in an AI-saturated\u00a0world.<\/p>\n

\u201cA generation of parents watched their kids become the\u00a0collateral damage\u00a0of our failure to regulate social media, and now this moratorium threatens to repeat that tragedy with AI,\u201d said Shelby Knox, director of online safety campaigns at ParentsTogether Action.<\/p>\n

What could be next for the executive order<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a good chance it ends up being part of a court battle.<\/p>\n

Last month, when the order was in draft form, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sent a letter to congressional leaders warning that the state would sue if the order was signed.<\/p>\n

And Thursday, California state Sen. Scott Wiener, who wrote the\u00a0AI safety bill\u00a0signed in that state this year, said in a statement: \u201cIf the Trump Administration tries to enforce this ridiculous order, we will see them in court.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Connecticut, Democratic Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney said Friday the state plans to press ahead with broad regulation even after the order.<\/p>\n

In May, attorneys general for 40 states and territories \u2014 Republicans and Democrats \u2014 signed a\u00a0letter to congressional leaders<\/a>\u00a0calling on them not to pass a provision blocking state AI regulation for 10 years.<\/p>\n

Shatorah Roberson, a senior policy counsel at the Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, says that in this case, it\u2019s clear that the president does not have the authority to preempt state laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an issue of our democracy and the president through executive order can\u2019t just preempt state laws without going through the democratic process,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Mead Gruver, Susan Haigh, Geoff Mulvihill, Tr\u00e2n Nguy\u1ec5n and Barbara Ortutay contributed to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday pressuring states not to regulate\u00a0artificial intelligence. Watch Trump\u2019s remarks in the video player above. Trump and some Republicans argue that the limited regulations already enacted by states, and others that might follow, will dampen innovation and growth for the technology. Critics from both political parties \u2014 as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}