On November 20, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) issued a release stating its opposition to federal initiatives seeking to block states from governing AI and automated decision-making technology (ADMT) laws. According to CalPrivacy, Congress was considering federal preemption of state AI and ADMT laws, including proposals to add a moratorium on such laws to the National Defense Authorization Act. In addition, a draft executive order had circulated that would direct the DOJ to challenge state AI laws and create a DOJ task force for this purpose.

CalPrivacy argued these efforts would strip millions of Californians of existing rights and leave consumers vulnerable. According to the agency, states — including California and more than a dozen others with comprehensive consumer privacy laws — are better positioned than the federal government to address privacy harms from new technologies.