WASHINGTON, D.C. — After years of federal-level inaction surrounding artificial intelligence, a last-minute change to the GOP spending bill could put a moratorium on state-level AI laws for the next decade.
“That would be, perhaps, OK if the federal government, Congress actually could pass a law to ensure consumers are protected, but they’ve been incapable of doing that on privacy in general,” said Indiana State Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington), who was part of a legislative AI task force in 2024.
Specifically, task force members have expressed concerns the proposal could unravel a state law over campaign ad disclaimers (if an ad includes any AI-generated or digitally altered content) and another over law enforcement using AI for identification lineup purposes.
Although President Trump signed the Take it Down Act on Monday (a law that boosts federal-level protections for victims of AI-generated revenge porn), the state of Indiana’s AI-revenge porn statute could also fall under the moratorium.
“This simple footnote that they’re proposing would undo all those laws,” said State Sen. Liz Brown (R-Fort Wayne), who also authored the legislation creating the AI task force. “That would really be quite devastating.”
“It’s very defeating,” said Angela Tipton, an AI reform advocate who successfully pushed for the update to Indiana’s revenge porn law. In 2023, one of Tipton’s former students created and shared a digitally altered, X-rated image with Tipton’s face edited in.
“We just made some progress with the Take It Down Act being passed,” Tipton said. “I’m not understanding why they would roll anything backwards.”
In response, 40 attorneys general signed a letter expressing opposition to the proposal, including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita. The letter reads in part:
“…Imposing a broad moratorium on all state action while Congress fails to act in this area is irresponsible and deprives consumers of reasonable protections…”
A statement from an Indiana Attorney General’s office spokesperson reads:
“A 10-year moratorium on state enforcement of AI and automated decision-making laws could potentially cripple Indiana’s ability to protect Hoosiers from AI-driven harms like election misinformation, non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes, algorithmic discrimination, and identity theft, as embodied in our data privacy law. This amendment, which offers no federal-level alternative, may impact carefully crafted state protections and could embolden bad actors, undermine voter trust, and individual dignity. Congress should work with the states on this issue to ensure innovation does not come at the expense of public safety, privacy or democracy.”
“So, what they’ve essentially done, if this were to pass, is declare that artificial intelligence technology will be completely unregulated,” Rep. Pierce said. “States need to be able to step up and address those kinds of things.”
“When you see such a diverse group of attorneys general coming together and raising alarm, it just tells you that perhaps they need to go back to the drawing board with this one,” Sen. Brown said.
The bill passed out of the House Budget Committee during a late vote Sunday. It still needs to advance out of one more committee. If that happens, it will most likely reach the House floor by Thursday.
