White House Unveils National AI Legislative Framework
The Legislative blueprint calls on Congress to: preempt state AI laws; consider additional intellectual property protections while leaving the fair use question for the courts; encourage AI innovation; and channel oversight through existing regulators rather than creating new ones.
On March 20, the White House published its National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence ("Framework"), which aligns with the administration's pro-AI approach. How Congress responds will be consequential for the AI sector, creators and users of copyrighted materials, and businesses that use AI in their products and operations.
Federal Preemption of State AI Laws
The Framework urges Congress to "preempt state AI laws that impose undue burdens to ensure a minimally burdensome national standard," while respecting state police powers "to protect children, prevent fraud, and protect consumers." Building on a prior executive order promoting national AI uniformity, the Framework now calls on Congress for additional action.
Additional Legislative Recommendations
- Regulatory Sandboxes. Congress should create "regulatory sandboxes" to promote American AI innovation. These would provide controlled environments to test and deploy novel AI applications without facing the full weight of regulatory compliance during development.
- No New Federal AI Regulator. Congress should "not create any new federal rulemaking body to regulate AI" and should instead "support development and deployment of sector-specific AI applications through existing regulatory bodies and industry standards."
- Intellectual Property. The Framework draws a distinction between GenAI outputs that infringe third party copyrighted content and the training of AI models using copyrighted works. While the administration sees training as fair use, it leaves that issue for the courts—and recommends that Congress do the same. The Framework suggests that Congress should consider if additional protections are needed in view of AI (e.g., digital replica/deepfake laws) and how rightsholders might collectively negotiate compensation from AI providers without incurring antitrust liability.
- Free Speech and Child Protection. Congress should enable individuals to seek redress for AI platform censorship and prohibit federal coercion of AI providers into content moderation based on partisanship or ideology. Congress should also require AI providers to take measures to protect children, while empowering parents to manage their children's digital experiences.
Looking Ahead
These are legislative recommendations—not enacted law. Congress will ultimately determine how to act on these proposals; however, the administration is likely to use non-legislative means to pursue some of the objectives embodied in the Framework.
