Congress
White House scheduled to meet with groups on AI and kids’ safety bills
The White House scheduled a meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss legislation regarding kids’ online safety and preemption of state artificial intelligence laws, according to two people granted anonymity to share details of the private briefing and an invitation obtained by Blue Light News.
The invitation — sent Wednesday by Hailey Borden, the deputy director of the White House’s Office of Public Liaison — said the meeting would be “an off the record discussion on kids safety and preemption.” The two people said groups advocating for online safety were invited to attend and that the discussion would focus on a package of AI regulations that’s being assembled by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
It followed several meetings last week that top White House officials convened with tech companies and childrens’ safety groups to discuss the legislative push.
The latest invitation did not name which groups were invited. The White House and Blackburn’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The meeting comes as lawmakers and White House officials continue to iron out details of the legislative package, which is expected to include versions of the NO FAKES Act — which would create new regulations against AI deepfakes and other AI-generated replicas and advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday — as well as the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, which aims to hold companies to stricter design standards that would prioritize child safety. The App Store Accountability Act, or AASA, which requires minors to obtain parental verification before downloading apps, is also expected to be included.
This proposal could have new life now that Meta, which helped kill KOSA two years ago after a fierce lobbying fight, dropped its opposition to the specific bill now that it’s expected to be linked to a limited preemption of state AI laws and AASA, which would put the onus on app store platforms like Google and Apple to verify users’ ages.
But Blackburn’s forthcoming package is expected to face opposition in the Senate, where she’ll be tasked with winning over leadership and key voices on AI like Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Asked about the talks on Thursday afternoon, Cruz told reporters only: “We’re all working collectively.” Blackburn echoed the sentiment that discussions are ongoing, saying, “We’re going to have more to say about that sometime soon.”
The efforts to attach kids’ online safety measures to Blackburn’s broader AI package has also sparked backlash from conservative groups including former Vice President Mike Pence’s Advancing American Freedom and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. The groups wrote to Cruz and Commerce ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) on Wednesday warning that ASAA “would threaten the privacy and data security of Americans of all ages.”
Their letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, included signees from the industry coalition Chamber of Progress — which was founded by former Google executive Adam Kovacevich — and trade group NetChoice, whose members include Google, OpenAI and Amazon.
Gabby Miller and Kelsey Brugger contributed to this report.