HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday is once again voicing opposition to plans at the federal level to preempt state laws addressing artificial intelligence and its many risks, including harm of children and others who can be exploited online.
At a time when Attorney General Sunday and some Pennsylvania legislative leaders are taking action to combat the safety risks associated with modern technology, U.S. Congress appears poised to pass a provision that would strip states of the ability to regulate A.I. and take enforcement action against those who use it to cause harm.
This week, Attorney General Sunday joined 36 Attorneys General in a letter to Congress opposing federal preemption of state laws. AG Sunday joined a coalition with a similar message earlier this year.
“I am again joining many colleagues in urging Congress to allow states to continue on with the great progress we are making to protect children, families, and communities from the dangers of artificial intelligence,” Attorney General Sunday said. “We continue to charge offenders who use A.I. to exploit and abuse children and unsuspecting adults by manipulating images and sharing them online — an enforcement tool made possible by our state Legislature. Our legislative leaders continue to work on additional bills that will strengthen protections from dangerous uses of technology.”
Among those bills are:
- SB1050: Requiring mandated reporting of child sexual abuse material, including artificially-generated CSAM.
- HB1925: Regarding regulation of A.I. in healthcare.
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General has charged at least six individuals with felony counts under Act 125, which was passed into law by the state Legislature in December 2024. That law prohibits the use of artificial intelligence technology to create materials that appear to “authentically depict a child under 18” engaging in sexually abusive acts that did not occur in reality.
Attorney General Sunday’s Bureau of Consumer Protection continues to be national leaders in protecting older residents, and other potential targets, from scams involving the use of A.I.
“We have also advocated for Pennsylvanians to have protections from robocalls and other solicitations which use AI technology to mimic human voices,” Attorney General Sunday said.
Instead of a harmful prohibition on state laws, the Attorneys General are asking Congressional leaders to work with them on a substantive effort to create federal protections against harmful A.I.
In signing the letter, AG Sunday joined Attorneys General of: American Samoa, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Read the letter HERE.
# # #