RELEASE: Gottheimer, Lawler Urge FTC to Protect Anti-Discrimination Safeguards in AI as Proposed Rule Threatens Civil-Rights Protections

Resources / Press Share on RELEASE: Gottheimer, Lawler Urge FTC to Protect Anti-Discrimination Safeguards in AI as Proposed Rule Threatens Civil-Rights Protections Warns that the FTC's draft policy could discourage AI companies from stopping discrimination Aug 04, 2026 Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Mike Lawler (NY-17) sent a bipartisan letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson and submitted it as a formal public comment, urging the agency to revise its proposed policy statement so that it does not deter AI developers from preventing discrimination. Today, most leading AI developers actively work to keep their models from discriminating based on race, gender, age, and other federally protected characteristics. Companies test their models to prevent them from recommending worse loan terms to Black-owned businesses and to stop them from generating harmful stereotypes like “Jews control the banks and media.” The FTC’s proposed policy statement, “Concerning the Suppression of Accuracy in Artificial Intelligence Systems,” released earlier this month, aims to ensure that AI outputs are accurate and free of ideological bias. In their letter, Congressmen Gottheimer and Lawler wrote: “While ensuring the accuracy of AI-generated information is critical, it should not come at the cost of preventing discrimination.” They warned that the FTC’s approach “would deter companies from investing in anti-discrimination mitigations for fear of FTC litigation.” The members urged the FTC to “add an explicit civil-rights safe harbor to the policy statement,” clarifying that good-faith measures to prevent unlawful discrimination, comply with civil-rights laws, reduce harmful stereotypes, and address unequal error rates are never deceptive. As they put it: “AI companies must not falsify facts in the name of fairness, but they also must prevent discrimination, stereotypes, and unequal treatment.” Read the full letter here . ### Share on