Washington, D.C. — On Monday, Politico reported that Meta gave $65 million to two super-PACs working to weaken state AI safeguards in California and across the country. Last week, Reuters reported that messages from Meta employees warned that Mark Zuckerberg “had rejected creating parental controls for the chatbots, and that staffers were working on ‘Romance AI chatbots’ that would be allowed for users under the age of 18.” Reuters previously reported that Meta’s internal guidelines allowed its own AI chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.” Demand Progress led a coalition and organized a campaign asking Congress to oppose efforts to ban states from passing or enforcing AI laws.
The following is a statement from Demand Progress Policy Director Emily Peterson-Cassin:
“It is the height of self-serving, corporate recklessness for Mark Zuckerberg to let AI chatbots have romantic conversations with minors and then pump millions into super-PACs fighting against state AI laws that could protect kids. Big Tech has bought the White House and is now trying to destroy the last line of defense protecting Americans from out-of-control AI companies: state laws. The American people want commonsense safeguards for AI. Zuckerberg and the White House oppose this because it stands in the way of Big Tech’s never-ending quest for profit and power.”