US FTC proposal to preempt state AI laws raises First Amendment concerns
By Amy Miller and Emma Whitford ( July 2, 2026, 20:25 GMT | Comment) -- Part of the Trump administration's long-awaited plan to block state laws regulating artificial intelligence is already facing pushback, with even supporters of preemption saying the government's latest proposal raises concerns over free speech, or may not be effective in practice. The US Federal Trade Commission argued in a proposed policy statement that state AI laws may be "impliedly" preempted by the FTC Act if they "coerce companies into altering the output of their AI models to comply with and advance the state’s ideological objectives." Part of the Trump administration's long-awaited plan to block state laws regulating artificial intelligence is in, and it's already getting pushback, even from supporters of preemption, ranging from skepticism about its efficacy to outright concern that the government’s strategy could violate free speech....
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