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🚨 NetChoice/Echelon Insights Poll: Voters Rank AI Regulation Far Behind Cost of Living, Want One National AI Standard
WASHINGTON – Heading into the final week of the midterms, voters place regulating artificial intelligence (AI) near the bottom of their priorities, according to a new NetChoice survey conducted by Echelon Insights. Asked to choose the top issues for policymakers, 55% of likely voters named inflation and the cost of living and only 9% named regulating AI.
On the question of who should write AI rules, voters favor a single national approach. 68% say Congress should set national AI rules that apply in every state, compared with 19% who say states should set their own, and majorities of Republicans (65%), Independents (64%) and Democrats (72%) agree.
"Washington has spent recent months treating AI regulation as a leading voter concern, but voters say kitchen table issues, like inflation and jobs, are far more worthy of government attention," said @RobPWJ, Vice President of Public Affairs at NetChoice. "On AI, over two-thirds of voters (68%) want the clarity of a national framework rather than a state-by-state patchwork."
KEY FINDINGS:
1. Cost of living leads. 55% named inflation and the cost of living as a top priority, followed by jobs and the economy (25%), ending the war with Iran (22%) and healthcare costs (20%). Groceries are the top pressure on household finances (66%) and the top area voters want the federal government to focus on when working to lower prices (62%).
2. AI regulation ranks low. 9% named regulating AI as a top priority, and only 2% named breaking up large tech companies.
3. Voters use AI and find it helpful. Half of voters (50%) use AI at least a few times a week. Among those who use it, 46% say it has been extremely or very helpful in their daily life or work.
4. Enforce existing law first. A plurality (48%) say existing laws on fraud, discrimination, privacy and consumer protection should be enforced before new AI-specific laws are written, while 41% want new laws now.
5. Consumer-focused antitrust has broad support. 76% support applying the consumer welfare standard in antitrust enforcement and 7% oppose it. 90% agree antitrust laws should be written and enforced equally on all companies.
6. Breaking up large companies should be a low priority for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Voters want the FTC to focus on stopping fraud and scams (49%) and protecting data privacy (41%). Breaking up large American companies ranked last at 15%.
7. American tech leadership matters. 80% agree the country is stronger when the world's leading technology companies are based in the United States. 35% say breaking up America's leading tech companies would hurt the U.S. in the AI race with China, compared with only 22% who say it would help.
8. Voters reject losing features to EU-style rules. 52% oppose bringing European antitrust regulations to the U.S. if it meant losing access to convenient features they use today, and only 27% support it.
9. Support for data centers rises with information. Support for a data center planned in voters' own county rises from 33% to 44% after they hear more about data centers, and opposition falls from 58% to 48%. 54% agree that keeping data center development growing is key to American national security after being told data centers power hospitals, companies and the military, and 48% say they would be more likely to support new data center investment after learning that major tech companies have committed to pay for the electricity and grid upgrades their facilities require.
Cyberattacks are hitting the wallets of small businesses & their customers. 81% of small businesses faced an attack or breach in the past year, & nearly 40% had to raise prices to cover recovery costs. Congress should pass one privacy standard that puts Americans' security first. buff.ly/P1UY8BV
State-by-state rules split prediction markets into walled-off pools, & smaller pools mean less reliable forecasts. CFTC-registered exchanges already must monitor for manipulation, discipline violators, & post those actions publicly. One federal rulebook protects traders better & offers more accurate forecasts. buff.ly/aIu8F3Y
Mandatory warnings on personalized prices could backfire. A generic notice may make shoppers think they’re being penalized, so they opt out of data sharing & lose discounts. Small businesses like Mama Moon Boutique use customer data to offer deals at or below the standard price. buff.ly/lkNzt6Y
Protecting kids online takes investment & enforcement, not blanket restrictions on every user. NetChoice’s Digital Safety Shield for America offers lawmakers a constitutional path forward that empowers parents, educates children, & invests in law enforcement. buff.ly/wjVVEnX
Housing, not the grocery aisle, is the biggest force behind higher prices. Housing accounts for over one-third of the CPI, while food at home rose just 1.8% over the past year. Policymakers should focus on housing availability & energy production, not penalizing retailers. buff.ly/A4XRBRF
With household budgets stretched thin, data-driven pricing delivers vital, targeted discounts directly to consumers. Yet regulatory scrutiny now threatens these benefits.
Read more below ⏬
We’re hiring! NetChoice is looking for an Associate Attorney to join the fight to defend free expression and free enterprise online. Learn more at ⤵️ buff.ly/XyXoz6E
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Data center moratoria harm key revenue streams that fund local services. A 2026 fiscal analysis estimates Loudoun County, VA homeowners would pay about $5,800 more a year in property taxes without data center tax revenue, a 91% increase. buff.ly/eOajEdX
Retailers aren’t what’s driving up the cost of living. Grocery & retail net margins average under 2%, per NYU Stern data, while housing, transportation services, & healthcare keep climbing.
Rules aimed at stores won’t bring down rent or insurance bills. 🚫buff.ly/A4XRBRF
We’re hiring! NetChoice is looking for a Public Affairs Coordinator who will help to expand NetChoice’s marketing, digital, design, video, and events capabilities. Learn more at ⏬️ buff.ly/xehasx5
Indiana made a smart bet by competing for data centers, and Hoosier communities are already collecting the return. Amazon has now committed roughly $26 billion to data centers in Indiana, the largest set of technology investments in the state’s history. buff.ly/4ntOQpm
We’re hiring! NetChoice is looking for a Policy Manager who will be responsible for policy analysis, research, and communicating key principles to support NetChoice’s advocacy goals. Learn more ⏩️ buff.ly/UjQ8Hty
Dupes went from guilty secret to group-chat bragging right. Northeastern research finds 71% of Gen Z and 67% of Millennials regularly buy them. When shoppers are watching every dollar, brands have to show what the premium actually buys. buff.ly/3u60Ws1
A state-by-state privacy patchwork burdens small businesses and leaves gaps for bad actors. Twenty states have comprehensive laws, with Oklahoma and Alabama joining in 2027. Congress should pass one national standard. buff.ly/Wiuq2dH
California’s AB 56 forces social media users to sit through an unskippable warning covering up to 75% of the screen for up to 30 seconds. It returns every hour after three hours online. A federal court already blocked Colorado’s nearly identical law.
NetChoice sued to stop it. buff.ly/d2RhsEb
Blaming retailers for the cost of living misses where prices are actually rising. Core goods prices are roughly flat, & grocery inflation has slowed to about 2%, while housing, transportation, & healthcare drive the pressure. buff.ly/A4XRBRF
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