EFF Joins Coalition to Oppose FTC’s AI Policy Proposal

• The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Public Knowledge, and Fight for the Future have filed joint comments urging the FTC to withdraw its proposed policy on AI system accuracy.
• The coalition argues the proposal is unconstitutional and seeks to enforce partisan ideological alignment under the guise of regulating AI.
• The groups urge the Commission to refocus on its core mandate: ensuring market competition and protecting consumers from genuine deceptive practices.

Key Flaws in the Proposal

• First Amendment Violations: By positioning itself as an arbiter of "accuracy" in AI outputs, the FTC risks engaging in viewpoint-based judgment and prior restraint on speech.
• Overreach of Legal Authority: The policy attempts to preempt state laws, such as Colorado’s automated decisionmaking statute, without congressional authorization.
• Government Jawboning: The proposal’s vague language creates a framework that could lead to "jawboning," where the government pressures private companies to censor content the administration deems biased or untruthful.

Recommended Path Forward

• The groups emphasize that the FTC has no objective, non-partisan definition for "bias" in this context.
• The coalition insists that the FTC should abandon this effort to dictate private speech and instead focus its resources on actual unfair and deceptive commercial acts within the burgeoning AI industry.