US AI regulation 2025: Tech giants including OpenAI, Meta, and Google are stepping up efforts to block US states from regulating their rapidly growing artificial intelligence businesses, as per a report.
Kouri Marshall, director of state government relations with tech trade group Chamber of Progress, pointed out that, “Lawmakers should be inviting innovation, not driving it away from the state,” as quoted in the Bloomberg report. The group has major players like Andreessen Horowitz, Google, Apple, and Amazon among its members, according to the report.
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Matt Perault, head of artificial intelligence policy at Andreessen Horowitz, highlighted that, “My hope is the focus moves away from trying to regulate development to regulating use” by individual customers, as quoted in the report.
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While, industry lobbyists say companies are pushing again to attach the 10-year ban on state regulations to upcoming legislation, according to the report.
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Meanwhile, some states are exploring rules that would require firms to conduct audits to prevent consumer harm, disclose when people are interacting with AI and ban the companies from copying artists’ creative work, as reported by Bloomberg.
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But the tech companies and venture capital firms which are backing AI startups worry that any regulation could slow their growth in this relatively new sector and navigating 50 different state rules would be a major challenge for the firms, according to the report.
Hope Anderson, a privacy and AI lawyer with White & Case, told Bloomberg that the speed of technological change makes it “tricky” for the law to keep up, and more so if states enact a “patchwork” of differing regulations, as quoted in the report.
Why are tech companies against state-level AI laws?
Because 50 different rules would make it harder for them to scale and innovate quickly.
What do the tech companies want instead?
They prefer a single federal law focused on how AI is used, not how it's built.
Tech Giants Push Back Against State-Level AI Regulations
These companies are lobbying both the White House and Republican-led Congress, after five states, including Texas, Colorado, California, Tennessee and New York passed significant AI-related laws, as reported by Bloomberg.Kouri Marshall, director of state government relations with tech trade group Chamber of Progress, pointed out that, “Lawmakers should be inviting innovation, not driving it away from the state,” as quoted in the Bloomberg report. The group has major players like Andreessen Horowitz, Google, Apple, and Amazon among its members, according to the report.
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AI Companies Prefer Regulating AI Use Over Development
While many of the new state AI regulations have yet to take full effect, industry advocates want to shift the focus away from regulating how AI is developed and instead concentrate on how AI is actually used by consumers and businesses, as per the Bloomberg report. After all, the companies that make early AI breakthroughs stand to gain trillions of dollars in market value, as reported by Bloomberg.Matt Perault, head of artificial intelligence policy at Andreessen Horowitz, highlighted that, “My hope is the focus moves away from trying to regulate development to regulating use” by individual customers, as quoted in the report.
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Donald Trump’s AI Strategy Signals Opposition to Strict State AI Laws
In June, Republicans in Congress unsuccessfully tried to attach a 10-year ban on enforcing state AI regulations to US president Donald Trump’s tax legislation, according to the Bloomberg report. Although that effort failed, tech companies successfully influenced White House advisers to version of the federal moratorium on state regulation in Trump’s AI plan released in July, as per the report. That plan gives non-binding guidance to federal agencies, which includes a directive that AI-related federal funding should not go to states with “unduly restrictive” AI regulation, as reported by Bloomberg.While, industry lobbyists say companies are pushing again to attach the 10-year ban on state regulations to upcoming legislation, according to the report.
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Federal AI Legislation Remains Stalled
As AI technology increasingly takes on complex roles, such as screening job applications, identifying criminal suspects, processing medical claims, and creating realistic AI images, state lawmakers want to set some rules of the road, as reported by Bloomberg. However, federal AI legislation remains stalled due to political disagreements and opposition from tech-friendly lawmakers, according to the report.
States Propose Audits, Disclosures, and Content Protections
Meanwhile, some states are exploring rules that would require firms to conduct audits to prevent consumer harm, disclose when people are interacting with AI and ban the companies from copying artists’ creative work, as reported by Bloomberg.ALSO READ: Move over quiet quitting — as AI looms ‘quiet cracking’ is costing $438 billion and wrecking workers’ health
Experts Warn of Regulatory Patchwork Slowing AI Progress
But the tech companies and venture capital firms which are backing AI startups worry that any regulation could slow their growth in this relatively new sector and navigating 50 different state rules would be a major challenge for the firms, according to the report.Hope Anderson, a privacy and AI lawyer with White & Case, told Bloomberg that the speed of technological change makes it “tricky” for the law to keep up, and more so if states enact a “patchwork” of differing regulations, as quoted in the report.
FAQs
Why are tech companies against state-level AI laws?Because 50 different rules would make it harder for them to scale and innovate quickly.
What do the tech companies want instead?
They prefer a single federal law focused on how AI is used, not how it's built.
