Dive Brief:
- A growing majority of small business owners are concerned about the impact that AI regulation could have on their organization, according to a survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
- Nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents were worried about compliance and litigation costs that could result from being subject to different state laws on privacy, AI and technology, an increase of 14 percentage points compared with a 2024 poll, according to a report on the findings released Monday.
- “This year we’ve found the highest level of concern amongst small business with a patchwork of state laws that could inhibit adoption and growth,” Jordan Crenshaw, senior vice president of the Chamber’s Technology Engagement Center, said in a statement. “That’s why policymakers need to establish a single national framework that allows these businesses to thrive, instead of stifling their success.”
Dive Insight:
Many states are proposing or implementing regulations that would require businesses to disclose their AI use to customers, implement AI risk assessments, explain to customers how AI could affect customer interactions, and provide human oversight of systems that make consequential decisions, according to the report. Fewer than one in three respondents said they were well prepared to comply with such obligations.
Among other recommendations, the report called for a national AI framework that preempts comprehensive state AI laws, “while preserving the ability of state attorneys general to enforce technology neutral laws that … address specific harms like consumer protection, privacy, and discrimination laws where appropriate.”
The findings come as the Trump administration is threatening to withhold federal AI funding from states with burdensome rules on the technology.
An AI action plan unveiled by the White House last month calls on the Office of Management and Budget to work with federal agencies that have AI-related discretionary funding programs to ensure they consider a state’s AI regulatory climate when making funding decisions.
“The Federal government should not allow AI-related Federal funding to be directed toward states with burdensome AI regulations that waste these funds, but should also not interfere with states’ rights to pass prudent laws that are not unduly restrictive to innovation,” the document states.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has gone further than his own plan, calling for a federal AI standard that “supersedes all states.”
As of June 27, a total of 260 state measures related to AI were introduced in the 2025 legislative session, of which 22 have been passed, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution.
A Colorado AI statute passed in 2024 and set to go into effect next year stands out for its breadth and comprehensiveness, analysts say. Other states with AI statutes include New York, Texas and California.
“There is a storm cloud over this progress at the federal level, and it is unclear how this will affect how states are addressing AI,” the Brookings report said.
