
At a time when many believe that oversight of the Artificial Intelligence industry is desperately needed, the US government appears to have different ideas. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA)—recently given the nod by the House of Representatives—includes a 10-year moratorium on state and local governments enacting or enforcing regulations on AI models, systems, or automated decision-making tools.
Supporters claim the goal is to streamline AI regulation by establishing federal oversight, thereby preventing a patchwork of state laws that could stifle innovation and create compliance chaos. Critics warn that the moratorium could leave consumers vulnerable to emerging AI-related issues, such as algorithmic bias, privacy violations, and the spread of deepfakes.