Meta Launches California Super PAC to Back Light-Touch AI Regulation

Meta is launching a California super political action committee to back state candidates who favor light touch regulation of artificial intelligence, the company announced this week, in a move that signals a more aggressive political strategy by Silicon Valley as lawmakers weigh new AI rules. The new PAC, variously listed in company materials as Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California or Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across Meta California, will begin with tens of millions of dollars from Meta and be led by the company’s public policy executives, officials said.

Meta described the effort as nonpartisan and focused on candidates 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," a company spokesperson said. Brian Rice, Meta’s vice president of public policy and the PAC’s principal officer, warned that Sacramento’s regulatory environment could "stifle innovation, block AI progress, and put California’s technology leadership at risk," according to a statement released by the company. Reports also indicate Greg Maurer, another Meta policy executive, will play a key...