Child safety and digital privacy advocates in New York are praising the U.S. Senate’s decision to strike a provision that would have blocked states from passing new laws regulating artificial intelligence.
The provision was part of the GOP-led “Big Beautiful Bill,” and would have imposed a five-year moratorium on most state-level AI regulations. It was backed by Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who argued the pause was necessary to give Congress time to establish a national framework.
But the Senate voted 99–1 this week to remove the measure following bipartisan backlash. Lawmakers from both parties supported the reversal after widespread criticism from state leaders and advocacy groups.
“We know that these products need to be regulated,” said Julie Scelfo, founder of Mothers Against Media Addiction. “With the federal government being so slow to move, the only protections we have right now are at the state level, and that's why it's so critical that states not be prohibited from keeping their citizens safe.”
On a recent episode of WXXI’s Connections with Evan Dawson, Assemblymember Jen Lunsford echoed these thoughts.
“Technology moves very, very fast and law moves very, very slow,” she said. “So even trying to be as aggressive as we can, we will always be three-to-five years behind where we need to be, if not more.
New York has passed several digital safety bills in recent months: The Safer Kids Act requires companies to disable algorithmic social media feeds for users under 18. The New York Child Data Privacy Protection Act bans the collection and sale of personal data of minors. Advocates feared the scuttled provision’s exemptions for child safety wouldn’t do enough to uphold state laws like New York’s.
State regulations have also attempted to curtail the use of and require the disclosure of deepfakes.
More than 50 New York legislators signed letters opposing the measure. State Attorney General Letitia James also joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in urging Congress to reject it. Late Monday Blackburn, who helped draft the provision, introduced an amendment to strike the entire proposal.
"Until Congress passes federally preemptive legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act and an online privacy framework, we can't block states from making laws that protect their citizens,” she said in a statement.
The vote validates the work of advocates like Scelfo, who say the technology is already putting kids at risk.
“As bad as social media was for our young people,” she said. “AI is potentially even worse. We're already seeing that AI chat bots are causing young people to develop unhealthy relationships with technology.”
The Senate voted 99–1 to remove the measure, while narrowly passing the “Big Beautiful Bill.” The amended bill now heads back to the House before it reaches the president’s desk.
