Republicans propose prohibiting US states from regulating AI for 10 years
A provision in the proposed budgetary bill now before the House of Representatives would prohibit any state or local governing body from pursuing 'any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems' unless the purpose of the law is to 'remove legal impediments to, or facilitate the deployment or operation of' these systems.
The provision was a last-minute addition by House Republicans to the bill just two nights before it was due to be marked up on Tuesday. The House energy and commerce committee voted to advance the reconciliation package on Wednesday morning.
The bill defines AI systems and models broadly, with anything from facial recognition systems to generative AI qualifying. The proposed law would also apply to systems that use algorithms or AI to make decisions including for hiring, housing and whether someone qualifies for public benefits.
Many of these automated decision-making systems have recently come under fire. The deregulatory proposal comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by several state attorneys general against the property management software RealPage, which the lawsuit alleges colluded with landlords to raise rents based on the company's algorithmic recommendations. Another company, SafeRent, recently settled a class-action lawsuit filed by Black and Hispanic renters who say they were denied apartments based on an opaque score the company gave them.
Some states have already inked laws that would attempt to establish safeguards around these systems. New York, for instance, passed a law that required automated hiring systems to undergo bias assessments. California has passed several laws regulating automated decision-making, including one that requires healthcare providers to notify patients when they send communications using generative AI. These laws may become unenforceable if the reconciliation bill passes.
'This bill is a sweeping and reckless attempt to shield some of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world – from big tech monopolies to RealPage, UnitedHealth Group and others – from any sort of accountability,' said Lee Hepner, senior legal counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project.
The new language is in line with Trump administration actions that aim to remove any perceived impediments to AI development. Upon taking office, Donald Trump immediately revoked a Biden administration executive order that created safety guardrails for the deployment and development of AI. Silicon Valley has long held that any regulation stifles innovation, and several prominent members of the tech industry either joined or backed the US president's campaign, leading the administration to echo the same sentiment.
Sign up to TechScape
A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives
after newsletter promotion
'State lawmakers across the country are stepping up with real solutions to real harms – this bill is a pre-emptive strike to shut those down before they gain more ground,' Hepner said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
28 minutes ago
- The Guardian
How the Jeffrey Epstein row plunged Maga world into turmoil
The Department of Justice's announcement that it did not have a list of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged clients, and that the convicted sex offender was not murdered, has plunged the rightwing world into turmoil. Conservative commentators and media figures, some of whom spent years pushing conspiracy theories about Epstein's death, have accused the government of covering up the hedge fund manager's crimes, with calls growing for Pam Bondi, the attorney general, to resign. The saga has pitted Trump, who was friends with Epstein for many years before later disowning the financier, against his base, with the president pleading over the weekend for his supporters to 'not waste time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein'. This is how we got here. Epstein is charged with federal sex-trafficking crimes in a Manhattan court. Prosecutors allege that Epstein, who was taken into custody, 'sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls' from 2002 to 2005 at homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida. Epstein pleads not guilty. The charges come more than a decade after Epstein and the Miami US attorney's office reached a deal that ended a federal investigation involving at least 40 teenage girls. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges, served 13 months in jail and registered as a sex offender. Guards find Epstein dead in his cell at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. On 16 August New York's chief medical examiner rules that the cause of death was suicide by hanging, but lawyers for Epstein say they are dissatisfied with the medical examiner's conclusions. Trump shares a tweet from rightwing comedian Terrence Williams, which claims Bill and Hillary Clinton were involved in Epstein's death. After criticism, Trump doubles down, telling reporters: 'The question you have to ask is, did Bill Clinton go to the island? Because Epstein had an island. That was not a good place, as I understand it, and I was never there.' Trump adds: 'So you have to ask, did Bill Clinton go to the island? That's the question. If you find that out, you're going to know a lot.' A spokesman for the Clintons says the family knows nothing about the crimes committed by Epstein, who was known to have a number of famous and powerful associates, including Prince Andrew. Trump himself was friends with Epstein, and in 2002 said he had known Epstein for 15 years, describing him as a 'terrific guy'. The pair later fell out following a bidding war on a Florida property. The official ruling that Epstein committed suicide does little to quell conspiracy theorists. Much of the commentary, particularly from the rightwing, focuses on Epstein's relationship with liberal figures, including Clinton. The phrase 'Epstein didn't kill himself' begins to spread online, with Joe Rogan and even Republican members of Congress posting it on social media. Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's ex-partner and longtime confidante, is convicted of sex trafficking. The judge says Maxwell is 'guilty of one of the worst crimes imaginable: facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children. Crimes that she committed with her longtime partner and co-conspirator, Jeffrey Epstein.' A trove of court documents identifying associates of Epstein are unsealed. The documents, which had been filed as part of a lawsuit against against Maxwell in 2015 by one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Giuffre. Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, David Copperfield and Donald Trump were among those named in the documents – although none of the men were accused of wrongdoing. Giuffre claimed that Epstein and Maxwell forced her into a sexual encounter with Prince Andrew at age 17, and Giuffre sued Prince Andrew over the alleged sexual abuse. The suit settled in early 2022. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing. Trump, running for president, is asked in an interview if he would declassify 'the 9/11 files' and 'the JFK files'. He says yes. Trump is then asked if he would declassify 'the Epstein files', and initially says yes, but adds: 'I think that [declassifying the Epstein files], less so, because you don't know – you don't want to affect people's lives if there's phony stuff in there, because there's a lot of phony stuff with that whole world.' In an interview with Fox News, Pam Bondi is asked: 'The DoJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients, will that really happen?' Bondi replies: 'It's sitting on my desk right now to review.' Bondi will later suggest she was referring to Epstein case files, not a client list. After Trump and JD Vance pledged during the 2024 election campaign that they would release files relating to Epstein's crimes and contacts, the Department of Justice [DoJ] gives a group of conservative commentators binders labeled 'The Epstein Files: Phase 1'. The files contain little new information, leaving conspiracy theorists disappointed. Bondi describes the documents as the 'first phase of files', and in a statement the DoJ says it 'remains committed to transparency and intends to release the remaining documents upon review and redaction to protect the identities of Epstein's victims'. Amid a row over Trump's proposed tax bill, Elon Musk posts on X: 'Time to drop the really big bomb. @realdonaldtrump is in the Epstein files. That is why they have not been made public.' Musk later deletes the tweet. The DoJ announces that Epstein did not keep a client list, and said no more files related to his sex-trafficking investigation would be made public. The department releases an 11-hour video of the scene outside Epstein's cell during hours before and after his death, showing that no one entered or left the room. But a minute of footage is missing, prompting further speculation. Bondi says the missing minute is due to the Bureau of Prisons resetting the video. Rightwing media and commentators begin to lash out at the DoJ. Laura Loomer, the 32-year-old conspiracy theorist whose influence over Trump has come under scrutiny, accuses Bondi of 'covering up child sex crimes'. 'NO ONE IS BUYING THIS!! Next the DOJ will say 'Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed.' This is over the top sickening,' Alex Jones, the rightwing commentator and conspiracy theorist, writes on social media. On Truth Social, the rightwing, Trump-owned platform where people are usually united in their praise for the president and his administration, numerous users criticize the government over Epstein. Dan Bongino, the deputy director of the FBI who spent years pushing conspiracy theories about Epstein's death, reportedly clashes with Bondi at the White House. Bondi accused Bongino of leaking to news outlets, after NewsNation reported that the FBI had wanted to release more information on Epstein 'months ago', but was prevented from doing so. NBC News reports that Bongino is considering stepping down from his post at the FBI amid the Bondi row. 'Bongino is out-of-control furious,' a source told NBC News said. 'This destroyed his career. He's threatening to quit and torch Pam unless she's fired.' Trump writes a lengthy Truth Social post pleading with his supporters. 'What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.' Trump adds: 'One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it's the 'HOTTEST' Country anywhere in the World. Let's keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.' The post is the first time Trump has been 'ratioed' on Truth Social: more people comment on the post than like it, which typically suggests disagreement.
The Independent
34 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump sees his approval rating waver as backlash from Epstein files engulfs MAGA
Backlash over the Trump administration's fumbling of the Epstein investigation could be a factor behind a slew of polling showing the president's approval rating wavering. In a Morning Consult poll released Monday, 47 percent of voters said that they approved of Donald Trump's performance as president. It was a slight gain of two percentage points from the prior week's tracking survey results, but it belies a massive shift over the past month. Over the course of mid-June to mid-July, Morning Consult's polling tracked a six-point drop in Trump's approval rating, from 50 percent to 44 percent, alongside a surge in disapproval from 44 percent to 50 percent. Over that time period, the administration oversaw passage of the GOP's budget reconciliation package, the 'big beautiful bill,' through Congress. The White House also ordered strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, leading many to believe at the time that the U.S. was on the brink of being drawn directly into a Middle Eastern conflict once again. The chilling spectacle of massive ICE raids across the country has also caused Trump's issue-based approval rating on immigration to plunge in multiple recent surveys. His approval rating actually ticked up slightly in the days after the FBI and Justice Department declared in a joint statement that there was no evidence to support the existence of a 'client list' in the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted pedophile who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting prosecution for sex trafficking charges. That finding has become a major problem for the president, given that members of his own team fueled speculation about the issue in media appearances and in public statements for years. Trump's performance rating was also dipping in a second survey from the Scott Rasmussen-founded Napolitan News Service, which saw it drop by 1 percentage point between June 30 and July 10. But those polls may not have registered the extent of the fury that has engulfed MAGAworld over the sudden stonewalling of further information about the investigation from Trump and his team, given that it tracked responses from July 4-10. That backlash has largely erupted among Trump's youngest and most online supporters as outrage has rippled across the MAGA podcasting spheres and begun leaking into the sort-of-adjacent 'manosphere' podcasting arena as well. Democrats, too, began picking up the issue late last week as the party catches on to the anger over broken promises made by the likes of Vice President JD Vance and others to make public more information about the case — including, most importantly, the list of supposed clients. Few in MAGAworld beyond some of Trump's most opportunistic loyalists have accepted the explanation that a client list, whether created by Epstein himself or by investigators, exists in some form. Attorney General Pam Bondi's remark that the file was 'on her desk' earlier this year, and Elon Musk's assertion that Trump is on the supposed list, are not helping matters for the White House. Trump, on Saturday, issued his own bizarrely worded plea to his followers to drop the issue, which was rejected in a rare ratio-ing committed by his Truth Social fans. 'What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?'' Trump wrote. 'They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!' 'We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,' added Trump. In other polling, the president remains even further underwater. A Yahoo/YouGov poll released in early July found the president 16 points in the negative on the issue of his overall job performance, fueled in part by an 8-point deficit on the issue of immigration and border control. No major surveys have directly polled the handling of the Epstein case by Trump and his team specifically. However, a YouGov poll (for which methodology was not immediately available) released on July 9 found that a wide majority of American adults do not believe the extent of Epstein's crimes will ever be known or investigated.
Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
CNN darling Kaitlan Collins taunts haters after buying exorbitant Nantucket summer house
CNN star Kaitlan Collins taunted her haters after posting a series of images of her enjoying her Nantucket summer house over the weekend. Earlier this month, it was rumored that Collins, 33, purchased a 'very expensive' vacation home in the expensive and beloved getaway spot favored by the wealthy. On Sunday, the chief White House correspondent, shared a carousal of photos on her Instagram of her soaking up the sun with friends. She captioned the post: 'Some non-White House related content,' as she appeared to explore the quaint town, spend time on the beach, and enjoy a little wine with her girlfriends on the patio. News of her latest purchase didn't quite sit well with her co-workers at the struggling news network, as they were said to be less than thrilled about it. 'She just bought some bougie place and CNN people are grossed out that she paid so much,' an anonymous source previously told Page Six. They also described The Source with Kaitlan Collins host as 'way overpaid' and said the property was 'very expensive,' although they did not specify the price or how they knew. The average home price on the ritzy Massachusetts island was roughly $4.5 million as of May 2025, according to Collins' new purchase means she could be enjoying her summer surrounded by the likes of Tommy Hilfiger and Dave Portnoy, who both own multimillion-dollar Nantucket homes. The turmoil over Collins' lavish new island getaway came as an anonymous source told Fox News there are 'tears on the horizon' for the left-leaning news network. Warner Bros. Discovery's shock split into two distinctive companies is a sign the jobs and hefty salaries of CNN's top talent are on the line, media insiders have warned. The media giant announced last month it will halve into two publicly traded entities — Streaming & Studios and Global Networks — by mid-2026. Streaming & Studios' domain will be Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max. Global Networks, on the other hand, will be news focused, assuming CNN, TNT Sports and Discovery, among other programming. CEO David Zaslav will take on the leading role of the Streaming & Studios company, while CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will become the President of Global Networks. This dramatic move could be detrimental to CNN, which is already grappling with plummeting ratings. News of her latest purchase didn't quite sit well with her co-workers at the struggling news network, as they were said to be less than thrilled about it 'Inevitably, Gunnar will look at CNN and decide he can maintain relatively similar profits at a mere fraction of the cost,' Dylan Byers, a former CNN reporter who now works for Puck, wrote in an opinion piece. 'This will have perceptible ramifications on the talent side. Why, for instance, would Gunnar pay Anderson Cooper $18 million a year when Kaitlan Collins draws the same ratings at roughly a fifth of the salary?' The source familiar with the state of CNN shared their take on the matter with Fox News. They believe 'bean counter' Wiedenfels will go after high-salaried stars, going against the precedent set by former CNN boss Jeff Zucker, who was forced out before the 2022 merger. 'It's not just the overpriced talent. It's the overpriced producers. The overpriced executives. The superfluous reporters who barely are on the air,' the source said. 'All will either be exited or forced to take massive pay cuts.' Zucker was allegedly known for overpaying talent to keep them loyal to him, Fox reported. The result - CNN's first and second-tier talent now earn roughly five times what they are worth, the insider alleged. While Cooper earns an estimated $18 million every year, Jake Tapper, who hosts The Lead with Jake Tapper, brings in roughly $7 million a year.
