Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said on Monday that state officials have the right to regulate artificial intelligence despite President Trump’s recent executive order aiming to require a national AI standard the president argues would overrule state laws.
Speaking at Florida Atlantic University, DeSantis said Trump’s order does not block states from adopting their own AI regulations.
“The president issued an executive order. Some people were saying well no, this blocks the states,” the governor said. “It doesn’t.”
“You should read it and see. First of all, an executive order can’t block states,” he continued. “You can preempt states under Article 1 powers through congressional legislation on certain issues, but you can’t do it through executive order.”
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Although the governor said Trump’s order does not block state regulations, he said Florida’s proposed rules are similar to what the White House is seeking at the federal level.
“If you read it, they actually say a lot of the stuff we’re talking about are things that they’re encouraging states to do,” DeSantis said. “So even reading it very broadly, I think the stuff we’re doing is going to be very consistent. But irrespective, clearly we have a right to do this.”
Last week, DeSantis released a proposal for a “Citizen Bill of Rights for Artificial Intelligence” that seeks to protect consumers from the potential risks and harms posed by AI.
The proposal features several guardrails, including blocking AI from using a person’s name, image or likeness without their permission, protection from deepfakes and numerous restrictions aimed at protecting children.
DeSantis also addressed concerns from proponents of Trump’s order who are worried about AI regulations that could be adopted by Democrat-led states and the suggestion that the Justice Department could bring legal challenges in an effort to block state laws under the Dormant Commerce Clause, which prohibits states from passing laws that discriminate against interstate commerce.
“I don’t know how successful that would be, but the reality is, I don’t anticipate that even happening against the stuff we’re doing in Florida, but if it does, I think we would be well positioned to prevail on that,” DeSantis said.
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GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill have attempted to pass proposals to block state AI regulations twice in the past six months through Trump’s spending bill over the summer and the National Defense Authorization Act last month. But both efforts failed as lawmakers could not reach an agreement.
Trump has argued that it would be burdensome for AI companies to seek approval from all 50 states, a claim also made by AI firms.
“There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI,” the president wrote on social media last week before signing the order. “We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors, involved in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS.”
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