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The administration is exploring a far-reaching federal package that could strip states of authority to regulate artificial intelligence while advancing nationwide age-verification mandates, online safety rules and new controls over digital identity.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The White House is engaged in negotiations over a consequential technology policy package that could centralize AI regulation in Washington by preempting state laws, while simultaneously advancing federal age-verification requirements, online safety mandates and AI-related speech and likeness regulations. Critics warn the effort could dramatically reshape the balance of power between states and the federal government while expanding systems that require Americans to prove their identity online.
The negotiations, reported by Axios, center on whether the Trump administration will support a package that includes the Kids Online Safety Act, the NO FAKES Act and provisions requiring users to verify their age online.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is leading the talks with the White House, according to her office.
“Senator Blackburn is spearheading the negotiation with the White House to finalize legislative text of an AI preemption package that includes protections for kids, creators, and communities through the Senate version of KOSA, the NO FAKES Act, and age verification requirements,” a Blackburn spokesperson said.
The White House has not publicly endorsed final legislative language.
“The White House continues to proactively engage across government and industry,” a White House official said.
The discussions reflect a renewed effort by Republicans to block or replace state-level AI laws after earlier attempts by the Trump administration and congressional leaders failed to gain enough support. The debate now appears tied to federal child-safety legislation that could draw broader political backing.
A key unresolved question is whether any federal package would preempt a broad range of state AI rules or focus more narrowly on areas such as age verification and children’s online safety.
“The White House wants to get a deal done, and obviously preemption is an important priority for them that they’ve had since day one,” said Jon Schweppe, a senior adviser at the conservative American Principles Project who attended one of the White House meetings.
“They understand that a robust kid safety package is how you get to preemption, so they’re just trying to piece together something that they think could actually get 60 votes,” Schweppe added.
The Monday meetings included White House officials, technology companies and child-safety organizations. According to people familiar with the discussions, officials who met with advocates included Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Ryan Baasch, deputy director of the National Economic Council; and representatives from the offices of chief of staff Susie Wiles and first lady Melania Trump.
Groups represented at the meeting included the American Principles Project, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network and the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
The White House sought input on a package that could include Blackburn’s Kids Online Safety Act and the App Store Accountability Act from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. KOSA would require tech companies to mitigate harms to children on their platforms. The App Store Accountability Act would require app stores and developers to verify users’ ages.
Advocates also discussed possible federal preemption of some state laws related to online child safety.
“We were told that this was a baseline, and that there’d obviously be negotiations adding to it, but that this was kind of the core that the White House wanted to promote,” Schweppe said.
Some child-safety advocates pushed for inclusion of the GUARD Act or other regulations targeting children’s use of AI chatbots.
“We really made the case, and I think they were receptive on the idea,” Schweppe said.
Other advocates expressed concern that child-safety legislation could be used to secure broader federal limits on state AI regulation.
“Federal preemption is a normal part of our constitutional order, but it’s not normal to trade a kids’ safety bill — or series of kids’ safety bills — for anything broader than that,” said one conservative child-safety advocate who spoke anonymously about the proposal.
“What we don’t want to do is make a trade on preemption that is going to block some future action that we need on the state level,” the person added.
Age verification is among the most contested parts of the discussion. In practice, verifying a user’s age can require uploading a government ID, submitting to a facial scan or allowing a platform to analyze behavior closely enough to estimate age. Critics argue those systems may confirm identity as much as age and can create records that outlast the initial check.
The broader preemption debate also concerns state laws dealing with biometric data, automated decision-making and AI systems that affect residents. State governments have increasingly moved to regulate those areas, while major technology companies have argued that a single federal framework is preferable to a patchwork of state rules.
White House officials also met Monday with major tech companies to assess their interest in pairing child-safety legislation with a new preemption push. Representatives from Apple, Meta, Google and xAI attended, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Company spokespeople either declined or did not respond to requests for comment in the submitted material.
A White House official described the meetings as “pre-decisional” and said they were intended “to gather feedback from stakeholders.”
“Nothing was agreed to. The White House does not have a position on the proposals discussed,” the official said.
Getting the technology industry aligned could be difficult. Apple and Google have opposed the App Store Accountability Act, while Meta has supported it at the state and federal levels. At the same time, major technology companies generally favor preempting state AI and technology laws because they argue a single federal standard would reduce compliance burdens and protect innovation.
“The reports of this proposal or package come as a surprise given concerns raised by industry about these bills and the likely lack of support in the House,” said one tech lobbyist familiar with the meetings.
Blackburn’s office said the senator’s effort is not intended as a blanket override of all state AI or child-safety laws. Spokesperson Audrey Cook said the package would prevent states from legislating only on the same subject matter addressed by the federal bill.
Cook said the package would include KOSA, the NO FAKES Act and age-verification requirements. The NO FAKES Act would create protections against AI-generated replicas and deepfakes and allow people to sue over unauthorized use of their likeness.
The proposal faces a difficult path in Congress. Any technology package that preempts state AI laws would likely require bipartisan support, especially in the Senate. It remains unclear whether Democrats would support legislation that could restrict states from regulating AI or adopting their own protections for children online.
“Everything I’ve heard so far about Senator Blackburn being charged with putting it together has sounded partisan to me, and I just don’t think that has a chance of passing,” said Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., who co-authored a separate bipartisan House proposal with Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif.
The Obernolte-Trahan proposal would preempt state AI laws for three years and require certain AI developers to address risks before releasing models, but it received a muted response in Washington and does not appear to be the leading vehicle for AI policy this Congress.
Schweppe said the White House’s involvement increases the chances that a preemption package could move forward.
“And then the question is just, is there a package including preemption that the Democrats will vote for?” Schweppe said. “If not, is there a kid safety package without preemption that Republicans will support? And I don’t know the answer to those questions.”
The negotiations now place several issues in one debate: state authority over AI, federal child-safety rules, app store age checks, deepfake protections and the future of online anonymity. Whether those pieces can be joined into a bill capable of passing Congress remains uncertain.
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