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Meta Platforms, Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is launching a new political action committee to back candidates in California who support pro-artificial intelligence policies and oppose strict regulation.
“As home to many of the world’s leading AI companies, California’s innovation economy has an outsized impact on America’s economic growth, job creation, and global competitiveness. But Sacramento’s regulatory environment could stifle innovation, block AI progress, and put California’s technology leadership at risk,” a Meta spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The new California Super PAC, Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across (Meta) California, is dedicated to “backing candidates regardless of party who recognize California’s vital role in AI development and embrace policies that will keep the state at the forefront of the global tech ecosystem,” the spokesperson added.
Meta’s new pro-AI super PAC is on trend with competitors like Andreessen Horowitz, Airbnb and Uber as the industry faces braces for tougher regulation amid a global arms race against China, the company told Fox Business.
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Signage seen Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. ( David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
More than 50 AI-related bills have been introduced in California so far this year, according to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures.
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Meta warned those bills could slow AI development and limit its impact.
The new Super PAC will support California candidates who align with the company’s tech policy platform by advocating for AI progress, allowing parents to dictate their children’s tech safety, and by working to advance U.S. tech leadership.
According to Meta, the Super PAC is consistent with the company’s ongoing efforts to elect candidates who champion these issues.
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative meeting at the Hilton Midtown on Sept. 18, 2023, in New York City. (John Nacion/WireImage / Getty Images)
The push by tech companies to back pro-AI candidates comes ahead of competitive midterm elections expected in 2026, including in California, where incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom is term-limited.
A California Foundation for Commerce and Education study revealed earlier this summer that California’s tech industry contributed nearly $1 trillion to its gross regional product in 2022, accounting for 30% of California’s economy.
Silicon Valley has long been a technology leader in the United States, and despite Meta’s statement to the contrary, Newsom has touted “building economic opportunities” by training high school and college students for AI-related jobs in the Golden State.
Voters fill out ballots on Election Day inside the Ruben F. Salazar Park recreation center, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Earlier this year, Newsom also positioned California as the “global AI leader,” and released a report advising “workable guardrails” for AI.
“As home to over half of the world’s top AI companies, our state carries a unique responsibility in leading the safe advancement of this industry in a way that improves our communities, maintains our economic dominance, and ensures that this fast-moving technology benefits the public good,” Newsom said.
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Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
