How the AI Framework Breaks Trump’s Promise to Kids, Artists and Communities
How the AI Framework Breaks Trump’s Promise to Kids, Artists and Communities
Publish Date: 2026-04-03 10:25:00
Source Domain: www.techpolicy.press
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Lack of Meaningful Protections for Children: The Trump administration’s national AI policy framework does not support crucial protections for children, notably the “duty of care” component of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). It opposes strong federal measures and attempts to preempt state laws aiming to shield children from online dangers like exploitive content. This framework fails to require pre-deployment safety testing for AI models, increasing the risks to children in the AI era.
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Neglect of Artists and Creators: The policy does not sufficiently protect the rights and compensation of artists and creators. It allows copyrighted works to be broadly used for AI training, leaving the resolution of consent and compensation issues to the courts, which historically favor well-funded tech companies over individual creators.
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Ineffectual Measures for Local Communities: The framework does not adequately address the rising electricity costs brought on by the expansion of data centers needed for AI. It relies on non-binding commitments from companies to manage local power demands, ignoring broader infrastructure costs and potential increases in electricity prices for households.
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Preemption and Lack of Accountability: Rather than providing effective safeguards, the policy framework focuses on preemption to block state-level legislation, thus giving big tech companies a free pass to innovate without accountability. It abdicates governmental responsibility to regulate and protect communities from the growing harms of AI advancements, freezing current regulatory freedoms for the future.
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Insistence on Tech Company Agreements: Instead of establishing enforceable federal guidelines, the framework leans on voluntary agreements made by tech companies to fund the infrastructure needs of data centers, which experts argue is insufficient and does not address systemic issues leading to higher electricity costs for consumers.
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Failure to Protect Against Emerging AI Harms: Overall, the policy fails to establish clear, enforceable regulations that protect children, artists, and local communities, allowing AI advancements to proceed unchecked and likely exacerbating existing and emerging risks.
