Axios Pro tracker: Tech policy bills to watch after recess
Reconciliation has dominated the last few months and budget fights are next — but along the way, we're expecting some tech bills to inch forward.
The big picture: Lawmakers are facing increasing pressure to put preemptive, federal tech guardrails in place as states race ahead on legislation.
- With Republicans largely taking their cues from President Trump, the administration's AI action plan also offers a fresh roadmap on what to watch on the Hill.
Here's a rundown of what we're tracking:
Kids' online safety bills
The issue: The Senate Commerce Committee has yet to take up the Kids Online Safety Act and COPPA 2.0.
- Chair Ted Cruz has said he remains committed to the bills despite a messy fallout with KOSA sponsor Sen. Marsha Blackburn over an AI moratorium deal.
Status: COPPA 2.0 and KOSA have been reintroduced only in the Senate. Senate Commerce has advanced the Kids Off Social Media Act, which would set a minimum age of 13 to use social media platforms.
What's next: Senate Commerce and House Energy and Commerce leaders will have more time to start scheduling markups after August recess, but political fights over the president loom large over legislative progress, particularly in the House.
CREATE AI Act
The issue: This bipartisan bill would authorize the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, which is currently a pilot program providing computing power, data, software and training to researchers. The legislation has stalled despite once being seen as an easy lift.
Status: Only the House has reintroduced the bill.
What's next: Trump's AI action plan offers support for the NAIRR program, which may be the green light Republican lawmakers were waiting for.
- It also calls for a new plan, led by OSTP, to guide federal AI research investments.
- With the NSF gutted and steep budget cuts on the horizon, we'll be watching how well the government can deploy the program.
Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act
The issue: This bipartisan bill would ban the use of AI to generate "materially deceptive" content depicting federal candidates in political ads by amending the FEC Act, with exceptions for parody and satire.
Status: Reintroduced in April, it's awaiting another markup from the Senate Rules committee. (It made it out of committee in 2024, but didn't get to the floor).
What's next: Given how the federal atmosphere around AI has changed from one of caution to acceleration, we're doubtful this one makes it to a floor vote; though Congress may be the last bastion caring about AI safety in U.S. government.
NO FAKES Act
The issue: This bill would make companies and individuals liable for hosting and distributing deepfakes and replicas of people's voices and likeness without their permission.
- From children facing cyberbullying to artists and musicians, this bipartisan bill has broad appeal — and the similar TAKE IT DOWN Act has been signed into law.
Status: The bill's been introduced in both chambers.
What's next: The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on deepfakes in May, but has yet to markup the bill.
- Trump's AI action plan says more action is needed after TAKE IT DOWN, with a focus on offering courts and law enforcement tools to combat fake evidence presented in legal proceedings.
AI Accountability and Personal Data Protection Act
The issue: This bipartisan bill is meant to "protect consumers' data rights and hold Big Tech companies accountable for illegally pirating creators' copyrighted works" to train their AI models, per Sens. Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal.
Status: No markup yet, but there could be interest as the battles between copyright holders and AI companies heat up.
What's next: Hawley's Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing with authors and other experts to discuss tech companies scraping copyright-protected data this month.
- The AI action plan doesn't specifically address copyright, and points to Congress and the courts to figure it out.
AI moratorium
The issue: An effort led by Cruz and killed by Blackburn to stop state-level AI regulation was the tech drama to watch during reconciliation.
- The saga included moves to make some federal funding contingent on not enforcing state AI protections, convincing the parliamentarian it was a matter relevant to the budget, and potentially carving out some types of AI laws.
Status: OSTP director Michael Kratsios has acknowledged preempting state level AI regulation is in Congress' control. But the administration used the AI action plan to put the pressure on to offer the tech industry an alternative to a patchwork of state laws.
- The Federal Communications Commission is looking into how the Communications Act can be leveraged to preempt state AI laws.
What's next: Cruz, with the backing of the Trump administration and the tech industry, is not giving up and we're watching for some version of the moratorium to pop back up in a must-pass vehicle this Congress.
Open App Markets Act
The issue: Originally introduced in 2021, this bill is an attempt to break up Google and Apple's alleged smartphone and App Store monopolies by loosening restrictions on their rules and allowing app developers more flexibility.
Status: Reintroduced in the Senate by a bipartisan group in June with some new provisions.
What's next: Given how the U.S. government has pushed back against similar rules abroad, and how the U.S. vs Apple case continues at the DOJ, we don't expect a lot of movement on this one.
