On Wednesday, Sen. Josh Hawley made a failed attempt at passing AI legislation by unanimous consent vote in the Senate. Carving out an exception to Section 230, Hawley’s bill would hold a wide range of apps and platforms that use AI liable for content users create. Because the legislation loosely applies to any tech that incorporates generative AI, the bill would create liability for autocorrect, grammar editing apps, and photo touch up tools in addition to chatbots and image generators.

In a letter on Monday, a coalition of tech and civil society organizations including Chamber of Progress raised concerns that Hawley’s bill would hinder content moderation, threaten speech, hurt innovation, and crush a wide array of apps and online tools.

“The Senate has made real progress this year bringing members up to speed on AI through Schumer’s informational forums,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “That’s what makes today’s vote so dumbfounding. This is a slapdash bill that doesn’t know the difference between a chatbot and autocorrect, and it threatens to undermine critical practices like AI-supported content moderation. It’s good that this  bill failed, but next time the Senate can do better.”

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.