Artificial intelligence harm, problematic social media content, data breaches – the problems are the identical, however the policymakers and regulators who address them are facing a change.
As the federal government transitions right into a latest term under the renewed leadership of Donald Trump, the technology regulatory landscape within the United States is poised for significant change.
The Trump administration's stated approach to those issues signals change. It is probably going that it should move away from the civil rights aspect of the Biden administration's policies and give attention to innovation and economic competitiveness. While some potential policies would roll back strict federal regulations, others suggest latest approaches to content moderation and ways to support AI-related business practices. They also suggest avenues for state laws.
I study the interface between law and technology. Here are the important thing technology law issues more likely to shape the brand new administration's agenda in 2025.
AI Regulation: Innovation vs. Civil Rights
The rapid development of AI technologies has led to an expansion of AI policies and regulatory activities, bringing each opportunities and challenges. The federal government's approach to AI regulation is more likely to undergo significant changes under the brand new Trump administration.
The Biden Administration's AI Bill of Rights and AI Executive Order established core principles and guardrails to guard security, privacy, and civil rights. These included requirements for developers of powerful AI systems to report security test results and a mandate for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create rigorous security standards. They also required government agencies to make use of AI responsibly.
Unlike the Biden era, the Trump administration's approach to deregulation points in a special direction. The president-elect has signaled his intention to rescind Biden's executive order on AI, citing the necessity to promote free expression. Trump's nominee for Federal Trade Commission chairmanship, Andrew Ferguson, has echoed this sentiment. He has expressed opposition to restrictive AI regulations and the passage of a comprehensive federal AI law.
AI policy experts discuss possible changes to federal technology regulation within the Trump administration.
Given the limited prospects for federal AI laws under the Trump administration, states are more likely to take the lead in addressing emerging AI harms. In 2024, no less than 45 states have introduced AI-related bills. For example, Colorado has passed comprehensive laws to combat algorithmic discrimination. In 2025, state lawmakers could either follow Colorado's lead and enact comprehensive AI regulations or give attention to targeted laws for specific applications, comparable to automated decision-making, deepfakes, facial recognition and AI chatbots.
Data protection: federal or state leadership?
Privacy stays a key focus for policymakers, and 2025 is a vital yr to see whether Congress will enact federal privacy law. The American Privacy Rights Act, proposed in 2024, represents a bipartisan effort to create a comprehensive federal privacy framework. The bill includes provisions preempting state laws and granting private rights of motion, meaning individuals can sue over alleged violations. The bill goals to simplify compliance and reduce the patchwork of presidency regulations.
These issues are more likely to trigger necessary debates in the approaching yr. Lawmakers can even likely struggle to balance the regulatory burdens on smaller corporations with the necessity for comprehensive data protection.
Without federal motion, states could proceed to dominate privacy regulation. Since California passed the Consumer Privacy Rights Act in 2019, 19 states have enacted comprehensive privacy laws. Recent state privacy laws have various scope, rights, and obligations, leading to a fragmented regulatory environment. Key topics in 2024 included defining sensitive data, protecting the privacy of minors, incorporating data minimization principles, and addressing compliance challenges for medium and small businesses.
At the federal level, the Biden administration issued an executive order in 2024 authorizing the U.S. attorney general to limit cross-border data transfers to guard national security. These efforts can proceed under the brand new administration.
Cybersecurity, health protection and online security
States have develop into key players in strengthening cybersecurity protections, with roughly 30 states requiring corporations to comply with cybersecurity standards. For example, the California Privacy Protection Agency Board of Directors has proposed regulations for cybersecurity audits, privacy risk assessments, and automatic decision-making.
There is now a growing trend to strengthen health data protection and protect children online. For example, the states of Washington and Nevada have passed laws that expand health information protections beyond the scope of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Numerous states comparable to California, Colorado, Utah and Virginia have recently expanded protections for young users' data. In the absence of federal regulation, state governments will likely proceed to guide efforts to handle pressing privacy and cybersecurity concerns in 2025.
Social media and Section 230
Regulation of online platforms has been a contentious issue under each the Biden and Trump administrations. There are federal efforts to reform Section 230, which exempts online platforms from liability for user-generated content, in addition to federal and state efforts to combat misinformation and hate speech.
While Trump's previous administration criticized Section 230 for allegedly enabling the censorship of conservative voices, the Biden administration focused on increasing transparency and accountability for corporations that fail to remove objectionable content.
Section 230 explained.
With Trump back in office, Congress is probably going to contemplate proposals to ban certain types of content moderation within the name of protecting free speech.
On the opposite hand, states comparable to California and Connecticut have recently passed laws requiring platforms to reveal details about hate speech and misinformation. Some existing state laws regulating online platforms are being challenged within the U.S. Supreme Court on First Amendment grounds.
In 2025, debates about balance platform neutrality and accountability at each the federal and state levels are more likely to proceed.
Changes within the wind
Overall, federal efforts on issues comparable to Section 230 reform and online child protection could also be moving forward, but AI regulation and federal privacy laws could potentially slow on account of the administration's deregulatory stance. Whether long-standing legislative efforts comparable to federal privacy protections are implemented depends upon the balance of power between Congress, the courts and the brand new administration.
