A New Section 230: Why AI Preemption Would Let Tech Off the Hook Again

Members of Congress are yet again preparing to roll out a bill that would preempt state laws on artificial intelligence. Strip away the polish and you’ll recognize a familiar playbook: granting broad immunity for Big Tech with minimal safeguards and potentially no end date in sight. It’s essentially version 2.0 of Section 230, the liability shield that has allowed social media platforms to escape accountability for over a decade. This time, it’s aimed at letting tech off the hook for AI harms.

This new preemption push follows Washington’s failed attempt to impose a decade-long moratorium on state AI regulation earlier this year, which the Senate overwhelmingly struck from the One Big Beautiful Bill in July. Now lawmakers are reviving the concept in an expected preemption package that would bar states from enacting AI guardrails tailored to local needs and emerging harms.

That matters because while Congress has largely stalled on passing AI safeguards, states are responding to growing public concerns. Lawmakers from Tennessee to California are enacting critical protections for young people online, for artists and creators and for voters in our elections. The expected preemption bill threatens to wipe out those safeguards and instead continue a system of zero accountability for the largest tech companies.

If this feels familiar, it should. Section 230 offered near-total immunity to online platforms for third-party content and courts interpreted it broadly. The result was a regime that incentivized toxic content and addictive engagement over responsibility. We saw the viral spread of disinformation, the monetization of outrage and the normalization of products that hook kids while exposing them to exploitation and self-harm.