The Senate’s AI moratorium proposal won’t impact copyright laws, such as those in Tennessee, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told us Thursday.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., joined Republican opposition to the proposed federal moratorium that would block enforcement of states' AI laws for 10 years (see 2506060019).

It’s unclear whether a proposed 10-year moratorium on AI regulation will survive parliamentary procedure in the Senate, and predictions vary based on political party and business interests.

Members of a bipartisan multistate AI policy working group are preparing an open letter opposing a U.S. House proposal that sets a 10-year moratorium on the enforcement of state AI laws (see 2505120067), Maryland Sen. Katie Fry Hester (D) told us Tuesday. Virginia Del. Michelle Lopes Maldonado (D), another working group member who has helped spearhead AI legislative efforts in her state, told us the House proposal appears to be part of a concerted industry effort to kill forward momentum on state AI bills. Meanwhile, senators we spoke to on Capitol Hill split largely on party lines about the plan Tuesday.

It would be a mistake for the Trump administration to undo President Joe Biden’s efforts at establishing a rights-based regulatory framework for AI technology, Democrats told us in interviews before the break.

The Senate Commerce Committee plans to mark up privacy legislation when it returns from recess the week of July 23, Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told reporters Thursday.

The Senate Commerce Committee will try again next week to approve funding for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program (see 2405100046), Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Thursday after the scheduled markup was pulled amid tensions with Republicans over amendments.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., agreed with Microsoft President Brad Smith Tuesday on the need for a federal agency to license high-risk AI systems.

There will be a “structured discussion” about how to regulate AI when Congress returns in September, but the most important thing remains passing privacy legislation, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Monday.

The Senate Commerce Committee passed two kids’ privacy bills Thursday, for the second year in a row (see 2211160078 and 2207270057).