Mass. must resist Congress’s proposed moratorium on state AI regulation

This article was written with Alex Pascal and originally published at CommonWealth Beacon on 2025-06-29.

Trump has demanded the Congress pass his “One Big Beautiful Bill” by July 4, putting enormous pressure on the House and Senate to move quickly.

The House version passed on May 22nd gave tech industry lobbyists a massive victory tucked deep in the bill: a ten year moratorium on state law regulating the development or deployment of AI. Since then, members of Congress, tech executives, researchers, and more have decried the potential harms of pre-empting states from constraining the potential dangers of AI for a decade—a lifetime for this rapidly accelerating technology. And yet the proposal is largely intact in the most recent Senate version of the bill, even though the vast majority of Americans are skeptical of AI and want it slowed down.

This is the moment for MA to show its leadership on AI. As we have previously written, the State has taken action to support AI development with the new Massachusetts AI Hub. But global leadership isn’t just propulsive development of new technology; it’s making sure that such innovation benefits, and does not harm, real people. Unfortunately, Massachusetts lags in lawmaking to protect citizens, consumers, kids, and workers from the harms of online platforms and AI.

Dozens of bills have been introduced to address a wide variety of potential AI harms. For example, Bill S.264 would require companies to disclose when the online representative you’re talking to is not a human, and hold them accountable for statements made by their virtual agents. Bill S.44 would prohibit misleading deepfakes shared before elections. Bill S.994 would preclude landlords from using AI to collusively set rents. Beacon Hill should draw national focus to the threat of a federal AI regulation moratorium by immediately holding joint hearings, passing meaningful regulation on AI, and – as we do in other policy domains – fighting alongside other states in court for our laws and rights if the moratorium gets enacted.

Contrary to the AI industry’s assertions, regulating technology to protect people’s wellbeing actually creates pressure for better innovation. The Clean Air Act of 1970 didn't just reduce air pollution but fundamentally transformed automotive technology, leading to computer-controlled engines, advanced materials science, and sophisticated emission control systems that are now standard worldwide. The Americans with Disabilities Act's web requirements led to breakthrough innovations like voice search, predictive text, and flexible interfaces—features that benefit all users, not just those with disabilities.

The federal moratorium, if passed this summer, would have little direct impact on Massachusetts because we have yet to enact the kinds of protections the Congress threatens to undermine. Some on Beacon Hill have publicly opposed the federal preemption of AI regulation. But the Commonwealth has not yet taken action to back up this rhetoric.

Other states, however, are actively legislating AI policy to protect their citizens. New York just passed comprehensive security and safety requirements for AI model developers. New Hampshire prohibits state agencies from using AI to surveil the public. Florida prohibits certain uses of deepfakes in political advertising. California requires disclosure when providers use AI to communicate with health care patients. Moreover, in the absence of federal action on digital technology and online platforms, other states have moved to restrict smartphones in schools, protect kids online, strengthen users’ control of their data, and enhance consumer privacy.

These laws are in their infancy, but their existence will enable us to learn what policies work best to govern and steer AI so that we can eventually scale them nationally to benefit all Americans. But the “Big Beautiful Bill’s” prohibition on state regulation of AI would destroy states’ vital role as policy labs exactly when we need them the most as AI is poised to bring generational upheaval to our lives, our communities and our society.

Throughout its history, Massachusetts exemplified the American tradition of US states as laboratories of democracy. It has been a national leader in policy innovation to protect people and improve their wellbeing. It was the first state to require kids to attend school, passed the nation's first minimum wage law, and one of the first workers compensation laws, helping establish the modern system of workplace injury protection. More recently, the Commonwealth’s universal health care mandate became the model for the popular Affordable Care Act that has provided health insurance to more than 50 million Americans. Now Massachusetts must meet the moment and lead in the digital age to protect its people from the harms of AI and steer this transformative technology in the public interest.