Meta Launches Super PAC to Counter AI Regulation Amid Rising State Policies
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Published Time: 2025-09-23T14:51:43+00:00
Meta has raised the stakes in Big Tech’s fight against AI regulation. The Facebook-maker is investing "tens of millions" of dollars into a new super PAC to fight state-level tech policy proposals that could stifle AI advancement, reports Axios.
Meta’s pro-AI PAC, called the American Technology Excellence Project, is the company’s latest effort to combat policies it sees as harmful to the development of AI. Last month, Meta launched a California-focused PAC to back tech-friendly candidates in state races.
Axios reports that Meta’s new super PAC will be run by Republican veteran Brian Baker and Democratic consulting firm Hilltop Public Solutions, and will work to elect tech-friendly politicians from both parties in next year’s midterm elections. Rachel Holland, a Meta spokesperson, told the outlet that the super PAC will focus on promoting and defending U.S. tech companies and leadership, advocating for AI progress, and putting parents in charge of how their children experience online apps and AI technologies.
The focus on parental control comes amid growing child safety concerns surrounding AI tools. Meta has come under particular scrutiny after leaked internal documents showed the company’s chatbots were allowed to have "romantic" chats with kids and whistleblower reports alleged that the company may have suppressed research on child safety.
Meta has not shared which states its super PAC would focus on, nor how many people the PAC would employ.
The PAC comes at a time when many states are proposing AI regulations, spurred by a perceived failure of the federal government to address the issue. More than 1,000 bills were introduced in all 50 states related to AI during the 2025 legislative session. In California specifically, two bills passed and are awaiting signature or veto by Governor Gavin Newsom: SB 243, a bill that would regulate AI companion chatbots to protect minors and vulnerable users, and SB 53, a bill that would set new transparency requirements on large AI companies.
Reached for comment, Meta VP of public policy Brian Rice said the new group would "support the election of state candidates across the country who embrace AI development, champion the U.S. technology industry, and defend American tech leadership at home and abroad."
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Silicon Valley has picked up the pace this year to try to curb states’ abilities to pass AI legislation, arguing that such a "patchwork" would be difficult for powerful AI companies to navigate and slow down innovation at a time when the U.S. is racing to beat China in AI development.
Last month, Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI president Greg Brockman launched a Silicon Valley super PAC with $100 million dedicated to advocating against AI regulation. Earlier this year, a proposal that would bar states from regulating AI at all for 10 years almost made it into the federal budget, but was ultimately struck down.
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