September 2025 US Tech Policy Roundup

This month, AI policy and deregulation were again a focus in Congress as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced a new federal AI framework built around the SANDBOX Act (S. 2750). The bill would empower the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to establish a regulatory sandbox where AI companies could test products with two-year exemptions from existing federal rules. In a similar vein, Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA) introduced “The American Artificial Intelligence Leadership and Uniformity Act” (H.R. 5388) in the House. The bill seeks to resurrect Sen. Cruz’s legislative efforts to preempt state AI regulation, with Baumgartner’s bill calling for a five-year moratorium on most state and local AI regulations.

At the same time, concerns about political influence over federal agencies intensified following the suspension of comedian Jimmy Kimmel by ABC/Disney. The move came after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr suggested revoking broadcast licenses of ABC affiliates over Kimmel’s remarks, and broadcaster Nexstar Media—also seeking FCC approval for a $6 billion merger—preemptively dropped Kimmel’s program. Observers warned that the Trump administration’s increasing use of merger reviews at the FCC and FTC to reward allies and punish critics represents an erosion of agency independence.

Beyond these high-profile headlines, federal agencies, Congress, civil society, industry, and the courts were active as well. The FTC launched new inquiries into how AI firms safeguard children and settled a decade-long case against Pornhub’s parent company. Meanwhile, the courts weighed in with landmark rulings, including Anthropic’s $1.5 billion copyright settlement, remedies in Google’s search monopoly case, and Amazon’s $2.5 billion “dark patterns” settlement.

Read on to learn more about September developments in US tech policy.