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Artificial Intelligence and Federal R&D

In October, we:

• Submitted comments to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in response to its Request for Information on Regulatory Reform on Artificial Intelligence. SIIA emphasized the importance of a cohesive federal approach to AI policy that supports innovation, protects national security, and strengthens U.S. competitiveness. Privacy Daily highlighted SIIA’s comments.
• Published an op-ed in RealClearEnergy on energy modernization, energy affordability, and AI. The piece explores how the rapid growth of AI is reshaping America’s energy future and why policymakers must act now to modernize the grid. SIIA posted a tweet and LinkedIn post to amplify this.
• Endorsed the SPEED Act, a bipartisan bill to streamline permitting reform under the National Environmental Protection Act, which has long created a challenge to data center construction. SIIA President Chris Mohr attended a private roundtable with House Committee on Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-AR) to discuss the bill and its prospects.
• Published a blog on California SB53’s impact on Congress. In the blog, Paul argues that the newly passed California Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (TFAIA) should serve as a catalyst for Congress to enact a national framework for overseeing frontier AI systems. It highlights concerns with state regulation of frontier models and how a federal approach should take shape.
• Were quoted in the Washington Tariff & Trade Letter on the possibility the Administration will impose export controls on critical software, and in InsideAIPolicy for our views on the newly announced AI Exports Program. 

Education and Children's Privacy

In October, we:

• Were featured at NCSL Base Camp’s session on Civic Education and AI, attended (virtually) by thousands of state legislators, staff, and policy advocates. Paul participated in a panel discussion on “AI, Democracy and Education.” The discussion highlighted the findings of a States of the Union: Rebuilding American Civics for a Digital Republic, issued by the CivXNow Coalition and EdSAFE AI (with contributions from SIIA). Paul spoke to how the AI revolution creates urgency for states to invest in civic education and teacher training.
• Submitted comments on the European Commission's Call for Evidence for the digital package and omnibus, specifically addressing guidance for AI in the education space under the EU AI Act.
• Issued a statement in response to Senator Cassidy’s introduction of the Learning Innovation and Family Empowerment with AI Act (LIFE with AI Act). The bill is intended to update FERPA and introduce a number of new requirements for education technology companies.
• Received coverage in Politico Morning Education for our views on Senator Cassidy’s LIFE with AI Act.
• Endorsed the reintroduction of the Literacy in Future Technologies (LIFT) Artificial Intelligence Act by Representatives Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07) and Gabe Amo (RI-01). This bipartisan legislation aims to improve artificial intelligence (AI) literacy for K–12 students by supporting curriculum development, professional learning for educators, and hands-on AI learning tools. Our statement in support of the LIFT AI Act was included in the press release. To view our statement, click here.  
• Published new episodes of SIIA’s The Business of Information Podcast, featuring two of our education members, HMH and GoGuardian. Click here to listen. 

Privacy, Data, Cybersecurity and Government Procurement

In October, we:

• Submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in response to the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on reconsideration of the Personal Financial Data Rights rule. The submission advocates for policies that promote innovation in financial data sharing while ensuring strong consumer protections, clear data access guidelines, and safeguards against misuse.
• Submitted a letter in response to a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on PAI and combating threats to DoD personnel. We caution against overregulation of data brokers’ productive activities, advocating for balanced policies that protect national security without stifling innovation in data-driven sectors.
• Joined with industry partners to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, pressing for actions to preserve robust encryption amid concerns over foreign government interventions. By invoking Section 12.3 of the U.S.-UK Data Access Agreement, the effort aims to ensure American firms can uphold high security standards without undue influence.
• Were highlighted in a press release by Senators Peters (D-MI) and Rounds (R-SD), in which SIIA endorsed their Protecting America from Cyber Threats Act that would reauthorize the now-lapsed CISA 2015 and enable public-private information sharing without fear of liability. We also issued a statement earlier in the month calling for the urgent reauthorization of CISA 2015 following its recent expiration.
• Hosted our quarterly DPAC meeting, where the topics discussed focused on (1) policies to advance cybersecurity resilience in a time of decreasing budgets and (2) the use of publicly-sourced information to train AI models. Both discussions provided fodder for policy initiatives that SIIA plans to develop in the coming months, including a possible project around school cybersecurity and another on publicly-sourced information and a framework for spatial AI.
• Participated in an ITIF-led workshop to examine cutting edge policy questions around privacy, security, web scraping, and agentic AI.  

Competition, Digital Trade, and Innovation Policy

In October, we:

• Submitted comments to the European Commission on EU antitrust procedural rules, urging reforms to strengthen the consistency and effectiveness of EU competition law enforcement.  
• Sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Vietnam and the Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam on the recently introduced draft Law on Digital Transformation. While commending Vietnam’s efforts to create a comprehensive framework for digital regulation, we urged the Government and National Assembly to resist the temptation to rush the draft law through the legislative process.
• Published a blog on the risks associated with the proliferation of DMA-like bills in a number of jurisdictions around the world. The article takes another stab at highlighting some of the negative consequences we have seen from the DMA in Europe, including a degraded user experience, less capital for start-ups to scale, and diminished business for many SMEs.
• Commented in a post on the French National Assembly Finance Committee’s advancement of an amendment that, if ultimately enacted, would increase the digital services tax on large tech companies operating in France from 3 percent to 15 percent.

Cross-Cutting Policy

In October, we:

• Published a blog heralding the importance of the open internet and the bedrock principles of free speech and the First Amendment. We published this on the heels of a Senate Commerce hearing that took a look at alleged government “jawboning” of social media companies and more generally government pressure on the private sector to make content-based decisions.
• Joined a group of organizations in a coalition letter to the Administration urging reconsideration of the H-1B visa fee increase, and emphasizing the importance of the H-1B program for the U.S. economy and innovation.

Intellectual Property

In October, we:

• Joined the Save Our Standards coalition in a letter to the Secretary of Commerce and the Attorney General, addressing the government’s recent statement of interest in Radian Memory Systems v. Samsung Electronics that supports making it easier for non-practicing entities (NPEs) to obtain injunctions in patent disputes.   

Strategic Litigation

In October, we:

• Joined a broad industry coalition in another amicus brief supporting a mandamus petition, this time filed by Instacart (aka Maplebear Inc.), again challenging the USPTO's new “settled expectations” rule.
• Joined a broad industry coalition in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, supporting Cambridge Industries' mandamus petition against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
• Joined a coalition of trade associations in an amicus brief filed in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals supporting NetChoice's constitutional challenge to Mississippi's social media law.

State Policy

In October, we:

• Issued a statement applauding California Governor Gavin Newsom for his thoughtful approach to companion chatbot legislation in the Golden State by signing Senator Padilla‘s SB243. The approach outlined in SB243 creates transparency and safeguards for companion chatbots without stifling innovation or raising significant constitutional questions.