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 recent 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’s going to 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 recent approaches to content moderation and ways to support AI-related business practices. They also suggest avenues for state laws.
I'm studying this 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 AI Bill of Rights And Implementing regulation on AI established basic principles and guardrails to guard security, privacy and civil rights. This included requirements for developers of powerful AI systems Report security test resultsand a mandate for the National Institute of Standards and Technology create strict safety standards. They also demanded this from government authorities Use AI responsibly.
Unlike the Biden era, the Trump administration's approach to deregulation points in a distinct direction. The president-elect has signaled his intention Repeal of Biden's executive order on AIciting the necessity for support freedom of expression. Trump's nominee to steer the Federal Trade Commission, Andrew Fergusonhas confirmed this opinion. He has explained his objection on restrictive AI regulations and the adoption of a comprehensive federal AI law.
With limited prospects for federal AI laws under the Trump administration, states are expected to paved the way in addressing recent challenges AI is harmful. At least in 2024 45 states introduced draft laws related to AI. For example, Colorado has passed comprehensive laws Address 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, akin 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 an important yr to see whether Congress will enact federal privacy law. The suggested one American Privacy Rights ActIntroduced in 2024, represents a bipartisan effort to create a comprehensive federal privacy framework. The bill incorporates provisions for override state laws and permit private rights of motionmeaning individuals can sue for alleged violations. The bill goals to simplify compliance and reduce the patchwork of presidency regulations.
These issues are more likely to cause sparks Key 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 this Consumer Data Rights Act In 2019 there have been 19 states passed comprehensive data protection laws. Recent state privacy laws have various scope, rights, and obligations, leading to a fragmented regulatory environment. In 2024 Key topics These 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 one in 2024 Implementing regulation 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 turn into key players in strengthening cybersecurity protections 30 states require corporations to comply with cybersecurity standards. The California Privacy Protection Agency Board did this, for instance proposed rulemaking on cybersecurity audits, data protection risk assessments and automatic decision-making.
There is now a growing trend towards empowerment Data protection in healthcare And Protect children online. Washington state And NevadaFor example, they’ve passed laws that expand health information protections beyond federal jurisdiction Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Numerous states, akin to California, Colorado, Utah And Virginiahave recently expanded protection for young users' data. In the absence of federal regulation, state governments will likely proceed to steer 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.
During Trump's previous administration criticized Section 230 for allegedly enabling the censorship of conservative voices, which the Biden administration has focused on Increase transparency and accountability for corporations that fail to remove questionable content.
With Trump returning to office, Congress will likely consider suggestions Ban certain types of content moderation within the name of protecting free speech.
On the opposite hand, states like California And Connecticut recently passed a law requiring platforms to reveal details about hate speech and misinformation. Some existing state laws regulating online platforms are being challenged by the U.S. Supreme Court Reasons for the First Amendment.
In 2025, debates about the right way to 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 akin to Section 230 reform and online child protection could also be moving forward, but AI regulation and federal privacy laws could potentially slow attributable to the administration's deregulatory stance. Whether long-standing legislative efforts akin to federal privacy protections are implemented is determined by the balance of power between Congress, the courts and the brand new administration.
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