On January 14, 2025, the Biden Administration issued an Executive Order on “Advancing United States Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure” (the “EO”), with the goals of preserving U.S. economic competitiveness and access to powerful AI models, preventing U.S. dependence on foreign infrastructure, and promoting U.S. clean energy production to power the development and operation of AI.  Pursuant to these goals, the EO outlines criteria and timeframes for the construction and operation of “frontier AI infrastructure,” including data centers and clean energy resources, by private-sector entities on federal land.  The EO builds upon a series of actions on AI issued by the Biden Administration, including the October 2023 Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI and an October 2024 AI National Security Memorandum.Continue Reading Biden Administration Releases Executive Order on AI Infrastructure

On January 3, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it reached a settlement with accessiBe, a provider of AI-powered web accessibility software, to resolve allegations that the company violated Section 5 of the FTC Act concerning the marketing and stated efficacy of its software. Continue Reading AI Accessibility Software Provider Settles FTC Allegations

In a new post on the Global Policy Watch blog, our colleagues discuss how Republicans may deploy the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn a number of regulations issued by the Biden Administration.

Continue Reading Biden Administration Rulemakings at Risk for Congressional Review Act Cancellation in New Congress

On December 27, 2024,  the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a Request for Comment (“RFC”)that seeks public input on the potential impacts on the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) L1 signal by the growth of satellite-based direct-to-device (D2D) operations that use frequencies between 1610-1660.5 MHz (the “L-band”).   As the lead spectrum advisor to the Executive Branch on spectrum issues, NTIA serves as the advocate for other agencies including the Department of Transportation (DOT) before the FCC.  NTIA issued its Request for Comment (RFC) in response to analysis prepared by DOT and states that its interest in D2D usage stems from the increasing deployment of services in which mobile devices like smartphones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices connect directly to satellite systems in the L-band, a portion of which is located near spectrum allocated to GPS.  NTIA invited comments to be filed by February 10, 2025. Continue Reading NTIA Seeks Comment on Potential Effects of Satellite Direct-to-Device Operations in the L-band on GPS L1 Signal

On December 31, 2024, the FCC issued a Report and Order (Third R&O) formally allocating additional spectrum for commercial space launch applications, fulfilling a provision of the Launch Communications Act (LCA) of 2024.  The LCA, which President Biden signed on September 26, 2024, directed the FCC to make the 2025–2110 MHz, 2200–2290 MHz, and 2360–2395 MHz bands (LCA Bands) available for use in commercial launches and reentries, and to finalize such allocations within 90 days of enactment of the bill.  In a statement on December 19, 2024, FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel stated that the new rules are intended to “build upon Commission action in 2023 that will enable companies to conduct launch activities without needing to request temporary authority from the FCC for each space launch,” making the commercial space launch process more predictable.

The FCC states that the rule changes, which are part of the agency’s new Space Innovation agenda, allocating new spectrum in the 2360–2395 MHz band generally are intended to satisfy the Congressional mandate of the LCA, provide regulatory certainty to licensees, minimize administrative burdens by leveraging efficiencies of scale and scope that will spur innovation, investment, and rapid deployment of space launch operations, and protect incumbents from harmful interference.Continue Reading FCC Allocates New Spectrum for Commercial Space Launches

On January 2, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck down the FCC’s Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet Order, which had attempted to reclassify broadband access as a regulated “telecommunications service” and adopted net neutrality regulations.  As we previously covered here, a different panel of the Sixth Circuit had previously stayed that Order pending outcome of the litigation against it.   The decision means that the FCC will not generally have a direct role in regulating at-home or mobile broadband service, absent action by Congress.

The three-judge panel held that broadband internet service providers offer only an “information service” as that key term is defined by the Communications Act, “and therefore, the FCC lacks the statutory authority to impose its desired net-neutrality policies through the ‘telecommunications service’ provision” under Title II.  In a related finding, the Sixth Circuit found that mobile broadband is a “private” mobile offering and thus it too cannot be regulated as a common carrier offering such that it can “then similarly impose net-neutrality restrictions on those services.”Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Strikes Down FCC Net Neutrality Rules

In a new post on the Inside Privacy blog, our colleagues discuss recent guidance from the attorneys general in Oregon and Connecticut interpreting their authority under their state comprehensive privacy statutes and related authorities.  Specifically, the Oregon Attorney General’s guidance focuses on laws relevant for artificial intelligence (“AI”), and the Connecticut Attorney General’s guidance…

Continue Reading State Attorneys General Issue Guidance On Privacy & Artificial Intelligence

In case you missed it before the holidays: on 17 December 2024, the UK Government published a consultation on “Copyright and Artificial Intelligence” in which it examines proposals to change the UK’s copyright framework in light of the growth of the artificial intelligence (“AI”) sector.   

The Government sets out the following core objectives for a new copyright and AI framework:

  • Support right holders’ control of their content and, specifically, their ability to be remunerated when AI developers use that content, such as via licensing regimes;
  • Support the development of world-leading AI models in the UK, including by facilitating AI developers’ ability to access and use large volumes of online content to train their models; and
  • Promote greater trust between the creative and AI sectors (and among consumers) by introducing transparency requirements on AI developers about the works they are using to train AI models, and potentially requiring AI-generated outputs to be labelled.

In this post, we consider some of the most noteworthy aspects of the Government’s proposal.Continue Reading UK Government Proposes Copyright & AI Reform  

On November 6, 2024, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) released its AI Tools in recruitment audit outcomes report (“Report”). This Report documents the ICO’s findings from a series of consensual audit engagements conducted with AI tool developers and providers. The goal of this process was to assess compliance with data protection law, identify any risks or room for improvement, and provide recommendations for AI providers and recruiters. The audits ran across sourcing, screening, and selection processes in recruitment, but did not include AI tools used to process biometric data, or generative AI. This work follows the publication of the Responsible AI in Recruitment guide by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) in March 2024.Continue Reading ICO Audit on AI Recruitment Tools

The results of the 2024 U.S. election are expected to have significant implications for AI legislation and regulation at both the federal and state level. 

Like the first Trump Administration, the second Trump Administration is likely to prioritize AI innovation, R&D, national security uses of AI, and U.S. private sector investment and leadership in AI.  Although recent AI model testing and reporting requirements established by the Biden Administration may be halted or revoked, efforts to promote private-sector innovation and competition with China are expected to continue.  And while antitrust enforcement involving large technology companies may continue in the Trump Administration, more prescriptive AI rulemaking efforts such as those launched by the current leadership of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) are likely to be curtailed substantially.

In the House and Senate, Republican majorities are likely to adopt priorities similar to those of the Trump Administration, with a continued focus on AI-generated deepfakes and prohibitions on the use of AI for government surveillance and content moderation. 

At the state level, legislatures in California, Texas, Colorado, Connecticut, and others likely will advance AI legislation on issues ranging from algorithmic discrimination to digital replicas and generative AI watermarking. 

This post covers the effects of the recent U.S. election on these areas and what to expect as we enter 2025.  (Click here for our summary of the 2024 election implications on AI-related industrial policy and competition with China.)Continue Reading U.S. AI Policy Expectations in the Trump Administration, GOP Congress, and the States