Platkin joins bipartisan attorneys general urging Congress not to block state AI regulations
TRENTON, N.J. — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has joined a bipartisan coalition of 36 attorneys general urging Congress to reject any effort to ban state laws regulating artificial intelligence, warning that such a move would undermine consumer protection, public safety and states’ abilities to respond quickly to emerging AI-related harms.
The letter comes amid reports that federal lawmakers may attempt to insert language into a military funding bill prohibiting states from regulating artificial intelligence. Platkin and other attorneys general successfully fought a similar proposal earlier this year.
“It is outrageous that Congress would try to prevent states from taking necessary steps to keep our residents safe from the threats posed by unregulated and unmonitored artificial intelligence,” Platkin said. “Our law enforcement partners and consumer protection advocates across New Jersey are increasingly alarmed that children, senior citizens, and others are being victimized and exploited by AI-enabled criminal-schemes or AI-fueled chatbots. I am proud to stand with a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general to oppose this deeply misguided congressional effort to enrich a small number of AI companies and executives at the expense of our state’s residents.”
The coalition’s letter acknowledges that AI has valuable applications in health care, public safety and other high-impact fields. But the attorneys general said they are increasingly confronting the dangers of emerging AI technologies: tools that distort reality for vulnerable users, fuel delusions, mimic grandchildren to scam senior citizens, engage in inappropriate conversations with children, and—in the most severe cases—encourage self-harm or suicidal thoughts.
The attorneys general warned that banning state AI regulations would leave residents exposed. Several states have already enacted protections targeting AI-driven threats, including misinformation aimed at voters, AI-enabled robocall scams, deceptive online marketing, data-privacy abuses and algorithmic manipulation that raises prices or misleads consumers. They argue that state laws fill a crucial gap because the federal government has not yet adopted comprehensive AI safeguards.
Instead of restricting state authority, the attorneys general urged Congress to collaborate on strengthening national protections against harmful uses of AI.
Platkin signed the letter along with the attorneys general of American Samoa, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, the Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington and Wisconsin.
