Ted Cruz’s new bill would let AI companies set their own rules for up to 10 years
On Wednesday, Senator Ted Cruz presented legislation to create a regulatory “sandbox” which would allow artificial intelligence companies to experiment with a minimum of federal surveillance.
The Sandbox Act, if adopted by Congress, would allow companies to request modifications or derogations from any “obstructive regulations” from the tests and the deployment of products or services that use or contain “in whole or in part” at least one AI system. In return, companies would be required to disclose plans to mitigate consumer safety and financial risks.
The exemptions would last two years at a time, up to 10 years, returning to the defaulting moratorium which sought to suspend all the regulation of the AI at the level of the state for a decade. This bill was defeated in the Senate in July.
The power to grant these exceptions would rest with the Federal Agency whose regulations would otherwise be in force, such as the Federal Trade Commission, which applies current online protections on privacy for children. Derogations would be automatically granted if the agency does not respond within 90 days. If it is rejected, the company would be able to call on the Office of Sciences and Technological House (OSTP), which would supervise the sandbox program and have the power to prevail over the refusal. Each year, the Congress would receive a report on the number of times the federal rules have been canceled or modified.
Group of technological responsibility The Tech Oversight project calls the bill as a “romantic agreement for the major CEOs of technology” which potentially gives companies that make Donald Trump a set of rules different from smaller startups. Public Consumer Defense Organization Citizen warns that the bill would allow Silicon Valley to apply the attitude of “moving and rupture of things” towards laws and regulations. The two groups raise concerns concerning the bill giving the OSTP the power to cancel the federal agencies, many of which have already been hampered by the Doge now dissolved.
President Trump’s AI action plan, announced in July, has approved the creation of regulatory sand bins for AI companies. Trump’s plan also includes a moratorium back door by canceling the financing of states that regulate AI.
Cruz’s state of Texas adopted a law on AI in June which creates a “sandbox” of similar settlement but limited to 36 months.
