"Meta, Amazon, and more want 10-year ban on states regulating AI", 18 June 2025

The lobbying is being done by trade body Incompas, on behalf of its members, which include major technology firms as well as energy and law firms. Apple is not a member, but it has previously lobbied against similar AI regulation plans in Europe.

According to the Financial Times, none of the four Big Tech firms would comment on the lobbying. But Incompas CEO and former congressman Chip Pickering argues that preventing differing and conflicting AI regulation across the US is essential.

"This is the right policy at the right time for American leadership," he said. "But it's equally important in the race against China."

The lobbying follows Sam Altman's pitch to a Senate hearing in May 2025 that it would be "disastrous" if AI firms were regulated. Specifically, the OpenAI CEO said AI firms should not face safety regulations, nor transparency requirements over where it scrapes its data from.

While AI firms want to profit from other people's work without payment or credit, this particular lobbying is centered on avoiding overly complex regulation.

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The lobbying has been successful enough to get this provision included in the so-called "One Big Beautiful" bill that was passed by the US House of Representatives. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R), who voted in favor of the act, though, has since admitted she hadn't read it.

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Greene's voting on technology issues she doesn't read is unfortunately not unusual. It's just the latest in years of examples of all parties exhibiting a horrifying lack of awareness of what they are passing laws on.

Republicans are also reportedly trying to use Senate rules to call the act a "budget reconciliation" bill — which would mean it can be passed without Democratic votes.

Ted Cruz (R) has proposed that states which do not comply with this regulation could be punished. They might face the withdrawing of their billions in federal funding for bringing broadband to rural areas.

There is not, though, consensus amongst the Republican party. As well as Marjorie Taylor Greene's after-the-fact stance, Marsha Blackburn (R) opposes the moratorium because she supports Tennessee's law against unauthorized AI use in the music industry.

Separately, the EU is slowly rolling out its Artificial Intelligence Pact, which consists of voluntary pledges to support safe and responsible development of AI. Mega, Google, and Microsoft have signed the pact, but Apple has not.