A view from DC: The plan to trade kids' safety rules for AI preemption

Since the early days of the Trump administration, there has been one consistent refrain in its technology policy priorities: blocking state legislative actions that would turn artificial intelligence governance best practices into mandates. Though this goal has been aligned with the priorities of top congressional Republicans, attempts to create a moratorium or otherwise preempt state AI rules have been stymied by intra-party bickering. 

Now, as the countdown clock to the midterms creates a major sense of urgency on the Hill, the White House is trying a new tack. Recognizing the dwindling opportunities to pass substantive legal measures, the administration is seeking to tie its goals for unfettered AI development to the Hill's priorities. And you don't need an office on K Street to figure out the top tech policy priority for Republicans in both the House and Senate.

Think of the children, always

Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., has so far followed through on his promise to prioritize kids' safety legislation this term. The long and somewhat tortured path to passing a package of youth privacy and safety bills out of the committee finally saw success in March but fell short of garnering bipartisan support.

Meanwhile, in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has also made youth issues a priority, building on his success in spearheading last year's TAKE IT DOWN Act. In addition to the Kids Off Social Media Act, which passed out of committee with bipartisan support last year, Cruz has introduced the CHATBOT Act, co-sponsored by Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, John Curtis, R-Utah, and Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Last month, Cruz also publicly reaffirmed his support for the Kids Online Safety Act and promised the Senate will pass it again.

With this new strategy in mind, and presumably to better assess its own priorities on youth-related legislation, the White House hosted meetings this week with conservative advocacy organizations, including the American Principles Project, the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, as well as the nonpartisan Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. Separately, the administration also met with industry representatives, reportedly including Apple, Meta, Google and xAI. 

In a White House known for strong internal disagreements, it is a promising sign that these meetings reportedly included key stakeholders for the administration's tech and kids' priorities, including Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Ryan Baasch, and representatives from the offices of the White House chief of staff and the first lady.

Attendees at the meetings reported the White House is eager to build a package that could garner enough votes to pass both chambers of Congress, but the administration so far has refused to comment on whether it supports any of the individual bills that might make up such a package.

Multipolar negotiations

Speaking of bipartisanship, perhaps the most promising news on recent developments was the Washington Post's report that staff for Guthrie and his Democrat counterpart, Ranking Member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., met this week for the "first serious discussions over the package, called the Kids Act — the package that committee Republicans moved on a partisan basis in May after talks with their Democratic counterparts broke down." 

Compromise will be hard to achieve. There are many large gaps between the committee Democrats' concerns and Republicans' priorities, including over preemption, the focus on parental control and privacy drawbacks of age assurance requirements. COPPA 2.0, pulled from consideration in the E&C Committee after the Senate surprised leaders by passing its own diverging version during the markup hearing, could be part of the negotiations too.

There are also gaps between Guthrie's laser focus on AI preemption and other house Republican's ideas for AI legislation, most notably the bipartisan framework released for discussion last week by Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass. The tepid response to the framework showcases the ongoing lack of cohesion in the AI policy debate.

On the other side of the Hill, as Axios first reported, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is the White House's dance partner in negotiating a package that would weld AI preemption to kids' safety legislation.

Blackburn's leadership on this makes some sense. A longtime vocal proponent of online safety reforms, she also served as the primary blocker of the last major effort to pass an AI moratorium. After negotiating a deal on a shorter and narrower moratorium, Blackburn dramatically yanked support for the measure on the floor of the Senate just one day later.

It is fair to say this history has had a serious chilling effect on relations between Blackburn and Cruz, not to mention between Senate and House Republicans. The water under the bridge remains frozen, but perhaps involvement from the White House can bring a thaw.

Blackburn has been working to reaffirm her centrality to the conservative tech policy debate as she simultaneously fights to be the Republican candidate for governor in Tennessee, releasing her lengthy TRUMP AMERICA AI Act to stake claim to the MAGA approach on AI governance. A legislative victory would be a boon back home, as would an endorsement from President Trump, who has refused to pick a favorite between the two federal legislators running for the seat. Blackburn's Senate term doesn't expire until 2031, meaning she has a secure fallback if she doesn't clinch the nomination.

On substance, Blackburn's office says the package they are negotiating would include the Kids Online Safety Act, the NO FAKES Act "and age verification requirements." This allows the office to claim coverage for three of Blackburn's four AI policy priorities: children, creators and communities. The fourth, combatting the perceived censorship of conservative viewpoints in AI models, was not mentioned in the reporting, though.

Blackburn also promises the deal would not include "blanket preemption of all laws regulating AI or child safety," consistent with her prior more nuanced approach to AI preemption.

Reality check from the top

Even if priorities align and bills by the same names become part of similar packages in the House and Senate, differences will need to be ironed out. For one, there are major gaps between the two versions of KOSA in the two chambers, with the Senate embracing a duty of care and the House focusing on parental controls.

Additionally, neither the committee chairs nor the vocal AI-focused legislators are the biggest fish in the congressional sea. 

Recent reporting shows Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and his Democrat counterpart, Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are bullish on passing a preemptive AI bill this term. 

Thune has warned that many senators have concerns about "not trampling state's rights" in the process of passing a preemptive AI bill. 

And according to a new Politico interview, Schumer does not see much room in the legislative calendar, despite supporting action on AI. As he puts it, "We should get something done on AI, and it's … got to be balanced — keep innovation strong, but have guardrails to prevent the dangers." 

Though Schumer also told Politico "the sooner the better," he likely has his eyes on waiting until after the election, when Democrats expect to have a better hand. Perhaps legislators can spend the intervening time deciding which AI guardrails are worth the squeeze.

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