BILLINGS — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at reducing what he calls "excessive" state regulation of artificial intelligence, creating a federal task force to challenge state laws the White House deems "burdensome" to AI development.
The order has sparked concern among advocates in Montana.
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"No other industry in our country has been allowed free reign. No laws, no regulation," said Penny Ronning of the Yellowstone Human Trafficking Task Force.
While signing the executive order, Trump said that varying state regulations could hinder the U.S. in its technology competition with China.
"People want to be in the United States and they want to do it here and we have the big investment coming, but if they had to get 50 different approvals from 50 different states, you can forget it because it's not possible to do," Trump said.
The executive order establishes a task force to review and potentially challenge state AI laws that federal officials consider obstacles to innovation and investment.
According to Ronning, Montana passed two significant laws this year regulating AI in relation to child protection, addressing issues like deepfakes and revenge pornography.
Ronning, who worked extensively to advance those protections, expressed concern about potential federal challenges.
"What AI can do is take a picture off the Internet that a parent or grandparent posts because they want to share this lovely picture of their child. AI, a person that wants to create harm, can take that picture off the Internet and create imagery of that child having horrific, horrific things done to the image of that child," Ronning said. "We would say that's a crime. We would say that. However, in the state of Montana, that is a crime with our state laws now. However, if preemption happens at the federal level, that will make our state laws in Montana null."
The Trump administration's leader on AI and cryptocurrency policies, David Sacks, indicated the task force won't challenge every state law.
"Kids safety, we're going to protect," Sacks said on Thursday.
Trump's executive order came the same day Time Magazine named "The Architects of AI" as the 2025 Time Person of the Year, featuring an interpretative recreation of a 1932 photograph.
"It's not just online child safety groups like ours. It's also artists. It's also the music industry. It's media. It's those that believe in truth," Ronning said.
Despite uncertainty about which laws may face federal challenges, Ronning emphasized that child protection must remain the priority.
"This can't be about money. It's got to be about the protection of children," Ronning said. "The thing to remember about an executive order is that it's not a congressional statute or a law."
Ronning also urged parents and caregivers to practice online safety measures.
"When you post a picture of a child online, make sure that your settings are set to only family and friends, trusted individuals can see the image of that child," Ronning said. "You can't take that image back if someone has downloaded that and they can download that image within seconds and you can't take that back."
