US President Donald Trump signed executive order aims to prevent states from enforcing their own artificial intelligence (AI) rules.
“We want to have one central source of approval,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday.
This will give the Trump administration the tools to roll back the government's most “burdensome” regulations, said White House artificial intelligence adviser David Sachs. The government will not oppose AI rules regarding child safety, he added.
The move marks a victory for tech giants who have called for all-American AI legislation as it could have a major impact on America's goal of becoming a leader in the fast-growing industry.
Artificial intelligence company executives say state-level regulation could slow innovation and hinder the U.S. in its race against China for industry dominance as firms pour billions of dollars into the technology.
The BBC contacted artificial intelligence firms OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Anthropic for comments.
But this statement met resistance.
The state of California, home to many of the world's largest tech companies, already has its own rules on artificial intelligence.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, an outspoken Trump critic, issued a strongly worded statement in response to the order, accusing him of corruption.
“Today, President Trump continued his ongoing White House scam to enrich himself and his associates by issuing a new executive order aimed at preempting government laws protecting Americans from unregulated artificial intelligence technologies.”
Earlier this year, Newsom signed a bill requiring major AI developers to develop plans to limit the risks associated with their AI models.
States including Colorado and New York have also passed laws to regulate the technology.
Newsom said the law sets a standard that U.S. lawmakers can follow.
Other critics of Trump's order argue that state laws are necessary in the absence of meaningful barriers at the federal level.
“Depriving states of the right to enact their own AI protections undermines the fundamental rights of states to establish sufficient protections to protect their residents,” Julie Scelfo of the advocacy group Mothers Against Media Addiction said in a statement.
