Cybersecurity Policy Report, White House AI Policy Framework Urges Protection of Children Online, (Mar 20, 2026)

By Paul Kirby

A White House National Policy Framework for AI released today stresses the importance of artificial intelligence services and platforms protecting children online, “while empowering parents to control their children’s digital environment and upbringing.” It also generally favors a federal AI approach.

There was mixed reaction to the framework today, with tech industry groups and congressional Republicans welcoming it, and congressional Democrats and civil liberties advocates criticizing it.

The four-page document said Congress should (1) “build on actions to date by the Trump Administration to protect children, including the historic signing of the Take It Down Act”; (2) “empower parents and guardians with robust tools to manage their children’s privacy settings, screen time, content exposure, and account controls”; (3) “establish commercially reasonable, privacy protective, age-assurance requirements (such as parental attestation) for AI platforms and services likely to be accessed by minors”; (4) “require AI platforms and services likely to be accessed by minors to implement features that reduce the risks of sexual exploitation and self-harm to minors”; (5) “affirm that existing child privacy protections apply to AI systems, including limits on data collection for model training and targeted advertising”; (6) “avoid setting ambiguous standards about permissible content, or open-ended liability, that could give rise to excessive litigation”; (7) “ensure that it does not preempt states from enforcing their own generally applicable laws protecting children, such as prohibitions on child sexual abuse material, even where such material is generated by AI.”

The White House also said in a news release that “AI development should strengthen American communities and small businesses through economic growth and energy dominance. The Administration believes that ratepayers should not foot the bill for data centers, and is calling on Congress to streamline permitting so that data centers can generate power on site, enhancing grid reliability. Congress should also augment Federal government ability to combat AI-enabled scams and address AI national security concerns.”

As for preempting state AI laws, the framework said that “[t]he federal government must establish a federal AI policy framework to protect American rights, support innovation, and prevent a fragmented patchwork of state regulations that would hinder our national competitiveness, while respecting federalism and State rights.”

It said that “Congress should preempt state AI laws that impose undue burdens to ensure a minimally burdensome national standard consistent with these recommendations, not fifty discordant ones.

“This national standard should respect key principles of federalism and not preempt:” (1) “[t]he traditional police powers retained by the states to enforce laws of general applicability against AI developers and users, including particular laws to protect children, prevent fraud, and protect consumers”; (2) “[s]tate zoning laws, including state authorities, to determine the placement of AI infrastructure”; and (3) “[r]equirements governing a state’s own use of AI, whether through procurement or services they provide like law enforcement and public education.”

“Preemption must ensure that State laws do not govern areas better suited to the Federal Government or act contrary to the United States’ national strategy to achieve global AI dominance,” according to the framework.

It added that states should not (1) “be permitted to regulate AI development, because it is an inherently interstate phenomenon with key foreign policy and national security implications”; (2) “unduly burden Americans’ use of AI for activity that would be lawful if performed without AI”; and (3) “be permitted to penalize AI developers for a third party’s unlawful conduct involving their models.”

“The United States must lead the world in AI by removing barriers to innovation, accelerating deployment of AI applications across sectors, and ensuring broad access to the testing environments needed to build world-class AI systems,” it said.

The White House added that Congress should (1) “establish regulatory sandboxes for AI applications that help unleash American ingenuity and further American leadership in AI development and deployment”; (2) “provide resources to make federal datasets accessible to industry and academia in AI-ready formats for use in training AI models and systems”; and (3) “not create any new federal rulemaking body to regulate AI, and should instead support development and deployment of sector-specific AI applications through existing regulatory bodies with subject matter expertise and through industry-led standards.”

“President Trump's National Legislative Framework on Artificial Intelligence is a significant step toward achieving the national imperative of responsible deployment of AI technologies across the United States,” said NCTA. “The framework largely aligns with NCTA's recent ‘CORE AI’ vision, which highlights that America’s ability to lead in AI will ultimately depend on the infrastructure, policies, and innovation ecosystem that support it. We stand ready to work with the Administration, Congress, and others to ensure that the U.S. continues its global leadership in the deployment of AI with a focus on fostering innovation, economic growth, and national security.”

“America’s leadership in AI will boost U.S. economic strength and enhance national security. The Trump Administration’s focus on ensuring the United States nurtures a policy environment that propels AI’s growth is crucial to continued American AI dominance,” said Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) President and Chief Executive Officer Jason Oxman. “The legislative framework released today outlines areas that Congress should address to enable innovation, support an AI-ready workforce, and provide affordable and reliable energy access while accelerating critical infrastructure buildout.”

Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) President and CEO Matt Schruers said, “The Administration’s framework underscores the urgency of advancing U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence. Congress must focus on fostering innovation and deployment at scale, and work closely with industry experts to ensure legislative and regulatory actions are appropriately tailored and forward-looking. An overly restrictive approach not calibrated for risk may invite legal challenge, and will forfeit the opportunity to advance American competitiveness.”

“Following productive discussions this week with members of both parties in the House and Senate during our annual federal lobby day, it is clear that AI is high on the agenda for lawmakers and there is growing recognition that a federal framework is essential for the United States to lead the world in the safe and responsible use of AI,” said TechNet President and CEO Linda Moore.

“We believe a federal framework should take a risk-based approach focused on high-risk uses and national security concerns, empower the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop science-based standards for trustworthy AI, and establish a national policy that avoids a patchwork of conflicting state laws while protecting consumers and our workforce,” she added.

“The policy decisions made now will determine whether the United States leads in innovation, investment, and global standards or risks falling behind our competitors. It is past time that Congress advanced federal AI legislation. We appreciate the administration’s leadership on AI and look forward to working with Congress to advance a federal framework that establishes unified standards, supports innovation, and strengthens U.S. competitiveness in AI,” Ms. Moore said.

Incompas CEO Chip Pickering applauded the White House “for releasing the National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence. This moment represents a serious and timely call to action for Congress. At its core the framework recognizes what INCOMPAS has long advocated for, a unified federal approach that preserves American competitiveness and innovation in the global AI race. With hundreds of state AI bills advancing simultaneously, the risk of a fragmented regulatory environment is no longer hypothetical. Congress must establish clear federal preemption that gives innovators and investors the certainty they need to build, scale and compete.”

But Samir Jain, vice president-policy for the Center for Democracy & Technology, said, “The White House’s high-level AI framework contains some sound statements of principles, but its usefulness to lawmakers is limited by its internal contradictions and failure to grapple with key tensions between various approaches to important topics like kids’ online safety. It rightly says that the government should not coerce AI companies to ban or alter content based on ‘partisan or ideological agendas,’ yet the Administration’s ‘woke AI’ Executive Order this summer does exactly that.

“On preemption, the framework asserts that states should not be permitted to regulate AI development, but at the same time rightly notes that federal law should not undermine states’ traditional powers to enforce their own laws against AI developers,” he added. “States are currently leading the fight to protect Americans from harms that AI systems can create, and Congress has twice correctly decided not to pursue broad preemption.”

“The White House’s framework would promote corporate interests over the public interest. It is light on protection and heavy on promotion of dangerous AI systems. The American people deserve better, and Congress should do better than this,” said Electronic Privacy InformationCenter Executive Director and President Alan Butler.

In a joint statement, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R., La.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R., Ky.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), and House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Brian Babin (R., Texas) said they would work to implement the AI framework.

“AI has begun to demonstrate its potential to improve Americans’ lives. To ensure we continue to harness its potential and beat China in the global AI race, Congress must take action,” the lawmakers said. “Today, the Trump Administration took a critical step in releasing a framework that gives Congress a roadmap to pursue legislation that provides innovators with much-needed certainty, while protecting consumers and prioritizing kids’ online safety. House Republicans look forward to working across the aisle to enact a national framework that unleashes the full potential of AI, cements the U.S. as the global leader, and provides important protections for American families.”

For their part, more than 30 House Democrats have signed onto legislation introduced today by Rep. Don Beyer (D., Va.) that would repeal an executive order signed by President Trump in December that required the preparation of an AI policy framework.

A news release on the House bill, the Guaranteeing and Upholding Americans’ Right to Decide Responsible AI Laws and Standards (GUARDRAILS) Act, stressed that Mr. Trump’s executive order was “designed to establish a moratorium on state-level artificial intelligence policies. This legislation would prohibit the executive order from taking effect to ensure states can enact commonsense safeguards to protect the American public in the face of rapidly evolving AI technologies.”

“In today’s lawless, Wild West artificial intelligence environment, states have been leading the charge to implement safeguards addressing serious risks ranging from algorithmic bias to data privacy and consumer protection. But the Trump White House aims to kill state AI laws without setting even minimally acceptable federal guardrails, exposing the American public to the growing risks accompanying completely unchecked artificial intelligence,” said Rep. Beyer. “Until federal action ensures safe and responsible AI development, deployment, and use, states must retain the ability to implement policies to protect the American public.”

Sen. Brian Schatz (D., Hawaii) is introducing companion Senate legislation.

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