Google, following on the heels of OpenAI, revealed a coverage proposal in response to the Trump administration’s name for a nationwide “AI Motion Plan.” The tech big endorsed weak copyright restrictions on AI coaching, in addition to “balanced” export controls that “shield nationwide safety whereas enabling U.S. exports and international enterprise operations.”
“The U.S. must pursue an lively worldwide financial coverage to advocate for American values and assist AI innovation internationally,” Google wrote within the doc. “For too lengthy, AI policymaking has paid disproportionate consideration to the dangers, usually ignoring the prices that misguided regulation can have on innovation, nationwide competitiveness, and scientific management — a dynamic that’s starting to shift beneath the brand new Administration.”
Considered one of Google’s extra controversial suggestions pertains to using IP-protected materials.
Google argues that “honest use and text-and-data mining exceptions” are “important” to AI improvement and AI-related scientific innovation. Like OpenAI, the corporate seeks to codify the appropriate for it and rivals to coach on publicly accessible information — together with copyrighted information — largely with out restriction.
“These exceptions enable for using copyrighted, publicly accessible materials for AI coaching with out considerably impacting rightsholders,” Google wrote, “and keep away from usually extremely unpredictable, imbalanced, and prolonged negotiations with information holders throughout mannequin improvement or scientific experimentation.”
Google, which has reportedly educated quite a few fashions on public, copyrighted information, is battling lawsuits with information homeowners who accuse the corporate of failing to inform and compensate them earlier than doing so. U.S. courts have but to resolve whether or not honest use doctrine successfully shields AI builders from IP litigation.
In its AI coverage proposal, Google additionally takes concern with sure export controls imposed beneath the Biden administration, which it says “might undermine financial competitiveness targets” by “imposing disproportionate burdens on U.S. cloud service suppliers.” That contrasts with statements from Google opponents like Microsoft, which in January stated that it was “assured” it may “comply totally” with the foundations.
Importantly, the export guidelines, which search to restrict the provision of superior AI chips in disfavored international locations, carve out exemptions for trusted companies looking for massive clusters of chips.
Elsewhere in its proposal, Google requires “long-term, sustained” investments in foundational home R&D, pushing again towards current federal efforts to scale back spending and get rid of grant awards. The corporate stated the federal government ought to launch datasets that is likely to be useful for industrial AI coaching, and allocate funding to “early-market R&D” whereas guaranteeing computing and fashions are “extensively accessible” to scientists and establishments.
Pointing to the chaotic regulatory surroundings created by the U.S.’ patchwork of state AI legal guidelines, Google urged the federal government to cross federal laws on AI, together with a complete privateness and safety framework. Simply over two months into 2025, the variety of pending AI payments within the U.S. has grown to 781, based on an internet monitoring instrument.
Google cautions the U.S. authorities towards imposing what it perceives to be onerous obligations round AI methods, like utilization legal responsibility obligations. In lots of instances, Google argues, the developer of a mannequin “has little to no visibility or management” over how a mannequin is getting used and thus shouldn’t bear duty for misuse.
Traditionally, Google has opposed legal guidelines like California’s defeated SB 1047, which clearly laid out what would represent precautions an AI developer ought to take earlier than releasing a mannequin and during which instances builders is likely to be held answerable for model-induced harms.
“Even in instances the place a developer gives a mannequin on to deployers, deployers will usually be greatest positioned to know the dangers of downstream makes use of, implement efficient danger administration, and conduct post-market monitoring and logging,” Google wrote.
Google in its proposal additionally known as disclosure necessities like these being contemplated by the EU “overly broad,” and stated the U.S. authorities ought to oppose transparency guidelines that require “divulging commerce secrets and techniques, enable opponents to duplicate merchandise, or compromise nationwide safety by offering a roadmap to adversaries on how one can circumvent protections or jailbreak fashions.”
A rising variety of international locations and states have handed legal guidelines requiring AI builders to disclose extra about how their methods work. California’s AB 2013 mandates that corporations creating AI methods publish a high-level abstract of the datasets that they used to coach their methods. Within the EU, to adjust to the AI Act as soon as it comes into pressure, corporations must provide mannequin deployers with detailed directions on the operation, limitations, and dangers related to the mannequin.
