Part 3 - AI regulation in the US

This is Part 3 of 'Regulation of AI

The American approach to AI regulation has changed significantly with the new Trump administration. President Biden had signed an Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence in October 2023. In January 2025, President Trump revoked President Biden's Order and signed an Executive Order on Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence (the Trump Order). 

The Trump Order is framed as eliminating unnecessarily burdensome requirements put in place by the Biden Order that hindered the US' ability to innovate and requires US departments to rescind any policies and actions taken under the Biden Order that are "inconsistent with enhancing America's leadership in AI". The Trump Order also calls for the development of an AI action plan within 180 days. 

Federal agencies such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has produced guidance on AI including the AI Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0), for organisations designing, developing, deploying, or using AI systems. It is unclear to what extent NIST will continue these activities under the Trump Order. 

Recently, Trump has also proposed the One Big Beautiful Bill act, a budget reconciliation bill that includes a 10-year moratorium on enforcing state-level regulation on AI.

Several states have passed legislation to regulate AI. In California, Assembly Bill 2013 (regarding training data transparency) and Senate Bill 942 (regarding transparency around AI-generated content) have been signed and both come into effect in 2026. In Colorado, Senate Bill 24-205 (regarding consumer protection in interactions with AI) was passed in May 2024. Enforcement of these laws will be paused if the One Big Beautiful Bill act is passed.

Discover more insights on the AI guide