California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has vetoed a sweeping Big Tech censorship bill which favored Google over open-source tech developers..
On Sunday afternoon, Newsom announced his veto of the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act. Had it been enacted, the bill would have made open-source artificial intelligence (AI) developers responsible for other people’s use and modification of their technology, likely moving the entire AI industry towards the censorship-heavy closed-source models of California tech giant Google.
In a statement explaining his veto, Newsom wrote: “the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions [of AI] - so long as a large system deploys it. I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology.”
Google operates a closed-source AI called Gemini, which can only be seen and modified behind closed doors by the company’s own engineers, with even the product’s licensees kept in the dark. The Media Research Center has extensively documented how Gemini is biased against conservatives and American ideals.
Google’s competitors like OpenAI, Meta and X (formerly Twitter) offer open-sourced AI, which permit users to observe their code, see their biases and even modify their models to create something better. These AI programs would have been targeted by the Frontier AI Act.
In an Andreessen Horowitz podcast uploaded June 19, 2024, AI expert Anjney Midha warned that if the Frontier AI Act became law, “open source AI research in the U.S. will be completely crushed due to the legal risks involved.”
The Frontier AI Act (also called Senate Bill 1047) was written by Silicon Valley Senator Scott Weiner, an anti-free speech zealot who claimed that “Twitter now houses a zombie apocalypse army of hate.” In a statement posted on X after Newsom’s veto, Weiner complained: “This veto is a missed opportunity for California to once again lead on innovative tech regulation — just as we did around data privacy and net neutrality — and we are all less safe as a result.”
Weiner argued Newsom should have supported the bill, as it was supported by “[l]eaders from across civil society, from Hollywood to women’s groups to youth activists.”
US Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), who served as speaker of the U.S. House, joined free speech activists and tech entrepreneurs in opposing the Frontier AI Act. Pelosi warned: “While [I] want California to lead in AI in a way that protects consumers, data, intellectual property and more, SB 1047 is more harmful than helpful in that pursuit.”
Conservatives are under attack. Contact Governor Gavin Newsom and thank him for supporting the First Amendment and conservative values. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
