White House proposes blocking state AI laws for 3 years in exchange for online safety legislation

White House offers to trade state AI preemption for federal online safety laws in new deal with Congress

The White House wants to preempt state AI laws for three years in exchange for passing KOSA, the NO FAKES Act, and age verification. Free speech groups object. The White House is negotiating with key senators to bundle federal preemption of state AI laws with three online safety bills, Axios reported. Senator Marsha Blackburn is leading the effort to finalise legislative text. The package would block state AI regulation for three years in exchange for passing the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), the NO FAKES Act, and a federal age verification mandate. The deal represents the administration's latest attempt to strip states of the ability to regulate AI. Congress has already rejected preemption twice. The Senate voted 99-1 to remove an AI preemption provision from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this year. States have accelerated in the opposite direction, with 1,208 AI bills introduced in 2025 and 145 enacted. This time, the administration is trying a different route: attaching preemption to legislation that has bipartisan appeal. KOSA would require social media platforms to restrict content deemed harmful to minors, with enforcement powers given to the Federal Trade Commission. The NO FAKES Act would protect individuals from AI-generated deepfakes of their likeness. Age verification would mandate identity checks for online services. Free speech groups are alarmed. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a Koch-funded conservative organisation, warned that "taken together, these bills would fundamentally change the internet as we know it." FIRE argues KOSA would give the FTC broad power to hold platforms accountable for lawful speech, and that age verification would effectively end anonymous internet use. The Intercept has reported that KOSA's age verification requirements would make it nearly impossible to browse the internet anonymously, a concern that spans the political spectrum. The legislation would give whichever administration controls the FTC significant leverage over how platforms moderate content for roughly 71% of US adults who regularly use Instagram alone. The AI preemption component would formally establish a Center for AI Standards and Innovation and require certain developers to address risks before releasing models. A Blackburn spokesperson said the package is not "blanket preemption of all laws regulating AI or child safety" but structured as subject-matter preemption affecting specific areas. The timing coincides with progressive states moving to restrict AI data centre construction and hold tech companies liable for harms their AI systems cause. The administration frames preemption as necessary for national competitiveness, but critics argue it would remove the most active layer of AI oversight at precisely the moment states are filling a federal vacuum. Whether the deal can pass is uncertain. The administration's AI agenda has moved cautiously on regulation while pushing hard on adoption. Bundling online safety with preemption is a gambit to get both through Congress in one vote. The question is whether senators will accept a three-year freeze on state AI laws as the price of protecting children online.

Scoop: White House, Hill relaunch effort to block state AI laws

Why it matters: States are increasingly passing stronger AI laws and the Trump administration is feeling the heat to get something done. * The talks are aiming to pair one of the tech industry's top priorities -- overriding state AI laws -- with legislation aimed at protecting kids online and combating deepfakes. Behind the scenes: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is leading the negotiations, per a spokesperson, which include the Kids Online Safety Act and other tech-related measures. * "Senator Blackburn is spearheading the negotiation with the White House to finalize legislative text of an AI preemption package that includes protections for kids, creators, and communities through the Senate version of KOSA, the NO FAKES Act, and age verification requirements," a Blackburn spokesperson said. * "The White House continues to proactively engage across government and industry," a White House official said. The big picture: The maneuvering between Congress and the White House shows that a bipartisan proposal from Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) isn't the likely vehicle for AI policy in this Congress. * That bill would preempt state AI laws for three years, formally establish the Center for AI Standards and Innovation and require certain developers to address risks prior to releasing models. Catch up quick: The last time the Trump administration tried to preempt the states, Republicans were inundated with pushback from advocacy groups and state lawmakers across the country. * Blackburn's support, which the White House did not previously have, would be key for passage. * The Obernolte-Trahan bill was also met with pushback from groups saying states should be free to regulate. The revival of the preemption fight comes on the heels of Trump signing an AI and cyber executive order last week that includes voluntary pre-deployment testing of frontier models. The bottom line: This flurry of AI action will ultimately be hard to pull off as August recess in an election year nears.

White House negotiating federal preemption of state AI laws in exchange for Hill priorities

The White House is negotiating with Capitol Hill to secure federal preemption of some state regulations on artificial intelligence (AI) in exchange for technology policies related to kids safety and deepfake protections. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is "spearheading" the negotiations with the White House to finalize text for an AI preemption package, the senator's spokesperson told The Hill on Tuesday. The package will also include "protections for kids, creators, and communities." These policies would come through the Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a long-debated social media accountability measure, along with the NO FAKES Act (Nurture Originals, Foster Artistry and Keep Entertainment Safe Act) to protect artists from AI impersonation. The package would also include age verification requirements, another hotly contested issue in the kids online safety space. The White House has been trying to codify federal preemption of some state AI laws for more than a year, after attempts failed in both the Senate and House last year. Blackburn's spokesperson added the package would be "subject-matter preemption," rather than a "blanket preemption of all laws regulating AI or kids safety." This means states would be prohibited only from legislation on the same subject matters addressed by the package. The Hill reached out to the White House for comment. The negotiations, first reported by Axios, come just days after a bipartisan pair of House lawmakers released their long-awaited draft of a national framework on AI, aiming to preempt some state laws on AI, minimize the technology's risks and expand research. The draft, released by Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), proposes overriding state regulations that target AI model development for three years. This would not necessarily preempt state laws dictating how AI is used once released, according to the text. The road to passage of either of these packages remains an uphill battle as time is running out this Congress. Intraparty and partisan debates, along with fierce pushback from AI safety advocates, have delayed any movement, while the Senate and House do not appear aligned on a path forward.