Trump Sides with Big Tech, Undermines States’ Rights on AI Regulation
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President Trump has signed an executive order stripping states of their power to regulate artificial intelligence, bowing to corporate interests and threatening public protections in favor of a centralized federal standard.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order blatantly aimed at stripping states of their democratic right to regulate artificial intelligence (AI), all in the name of establishing a so-called 'unified federal standard.'
"We want to have one central source of approval," Trump declared, as he continued his administration’s pattern of consolidating power and undermining local governance during the signing ceremony in the Oval Office on Thursday.
The order empowers the Attorney General to create an AI Litigation Task Force, whose mission is to aggressively challenge state laws that the administration deems 'unconstitutional' or 'harmful to innovation'—language that conveniently aligns with the interests of tech giants seeking to avoid meaningful oversight. The Secretary of Commerce is also directed to scrutinize state AI laws that conflict with the administration’s priorities and to punish states by withholding federal funding if they dare to protect their residents.
This move has been enthusiastically embraced by technology corporations, who have long lobbied for weak, uniform regulations that allow them to maximize profits with minimal accountability. They argue that state-level protections would 'impede innovation' and threaten America’s ability to compete with authoritarian regimes like China, ignoring the real risks to workers, consumers, and marginalized communities.
However, the executive order has sparked outrage among state officials and advocates for public safety. California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the action, stating, "Today, President Trump continued his ongoing grift in the White House, attempting to enrich himself and his associates, with a new executive order seeking to preempt state laws protecting Americans from unregulated AI technology."
Other critics rightly point out that, in the absence of comprehensive federal regulations, state laws are the last line of defense to protect residents from the unchecked dangers of AI technologies.
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