Image by I Zhang, from Unsplash
Senate Keeps AI Regulation Ban In Trump’s Budget Bill
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
The provision to block U.S. states from enforcing their own AI laws stays in President Donald Trump’s broad tax and spending bill until further notice.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- Senate OKs Trump’s AI law ban for now via budget reconciliation process.
- States risk losing broadband funds if they regulate AI.
- Tech giants lobbied for unified federal AI rules.
The Republican effort to block U.S. states from implementing new AI regulations will remain part of President Donald Trump’s extensive tax and spending package until further notice.
The decision benefits major technology companies, which reject different state-based AI legislation, as noted by Bloomberg .
The Senate version of the bill would reduce federal broadband funding for states that implement AI regulations. The Senate made an unexpected decision, allowing Republicans to keep the provision despite Democratic opposition, as noted by Bloomberg.
TechPolicy notes that, should this moratorium become law, it would be one of the most far-reaching federal interventions in technology policy in decades.
However, the fight isn’t over. Senator Marsha Blackburn, and other Republicans oppose the ban because they believe states should maintain their authority, as reported by Bloomberg.
Blackburn expressed her opposition to the proposed moratorium, saying: “We do not need a moratorium that would prohibit our states from stepping up and protecting citizens in their state,” as reported by Bloomberg.
The proposed law would establish a 10-year moratorium on state AI regulations, which would nullify current laws in California, New York, and other states regarding privacy and bias, as reported by Bloomberg.
The Republican Party plans to pass the bill before July 4, but ongoing discussions about AI regulations, tax policies, and other matters may extend the timeline, says Blommberg.
The ban faces criticism for potentially harming consumer protection, as noted by the AI safety think tank Center for Responsible Innovation.
Stuart Russell, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, questioned the logic of deploying AI technology that even its creators admit carries a 10% to 30% risk of causing human extinction. “We would never accept anything close to that level of risk for any other technology,” he said, as reported by The Guardian.
U.S. governance of AI will experience a fundamental transformation through this decision, regardless of whether states participate in the process.
Image by Dimitri Karastelev, from Unsplash
U.S. House Bans WhatsApp On Official Devices Over Data Concerns
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives instructed its congressional staff members to eliminate WhatsApp from official government devices.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- U.S. House bans WhatsApp from all government-issued devices.
- CAO cites lack of data transparency and encryption.
- Meta says WhatsApp is safer than approved alternatives.
The order came from the House’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), citing serious worries about user data management and cybersecurity risks in the app..
“The Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high-risk to users due to the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use,” the CAO said in an internal email obtained by Axios .
“House staff are NOT allowed to download or keep the WhatsApp application on any House device,” they added.
If staffers already have the app installed, the CAO warned they will be contacted to remove it. Azios notes that the House has previously banned Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT (except the paid Plus version), as well as multiple ByteDance applications.
The parent company of WhatsApp, Meta, strongly opposes the decision made by the House. Spokesperson Andy Stone said, “We disagree with the House Chief Administrative Officer’s characterization in the strongest possible terms.”
We disagree with the House Chief Administrative Officer’s characterization in the strongest possible terms. We know members and their staffs regularly use WhatsApp and we look forward to ensuring members of the House can join their Senate counterparts in doing so officially. https://t.co/QsUPKaiAmU — Andy Stone (@andymstone) June 23, 2025
Axios reports how Andy added that WhatsApp messages are “end-to-end encrypted by default, meaning only the recipients and not even WhatsApp can see them,” and called it “a higher level of security than most of the apps on the CAO’s approved list.”
The CAO recommended House staff members use Signal, iMessage, FaceTime, Wickr, or Microsoft Teams as alternative messaging platforms, the Axios report said. Staff members received instructions to maintain constant vigilance against phishing scams and suspicious communication messages.
CNBC notes that the announcement comes as Meta is under fire in an antitrust case that challenges its acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram. The company plans to introduce WhatsApp ads for revenue growth, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg describes as “the next chapter” for the application.
