Senator Markey Releases “The AI Accountability Agenda: Taking Power Back from Big Tech”

Includes new legislation requiring data centers fund clean energy and storage to meet their capacity needs Full Agenda (PDF) Boston (July 10, 2026) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today released his AI Accountability Agenda: Taking Power Back from Big Tech , a new vision for artificial intelligence (AI) policy in Congress. The comprehensive agenda responds to the risks posed by AI and lays out specific policy proposals to protect communities from the immediate harms of AI. Senator Markey is releasing his agenda as the American people reckon with the real threats posed by AI. While Big Tech is making billions off its pitch that the benefits of AI are nearly limitless, the costs and the risks — to kids, workers, the planet, our health, our rights, and our communities — are nearly limitless as well. Senator Markey’s agenda proposes a comprehensive framework and common-sense legislation to address the harms that the American people are facing every day from AI. Senator Markey said, “For too long, the conversation about artificial intelligence has been about what’s next — the next breakthrough, the next headline, the next promise of the future. But the American people need more than future promises; they need answers to what’s happening right now. From discriminatory algorithms deciding who gets a home or a loan, data centers invading their neighborhoods, employers using AI to surveil and control workers, or kids turning to chatbots in moments of crisis and getting coached toward harm instead of help, AI is defining daily life right now, and people need protections.” Senator Markey continued , “The risks are the lived reality of AI for millions of Americans — and they deserve policymakers who are paying attention to their lives, not Big Tech’s bottom line. That is why I have been working for more than a decade to propose commonsense policies to take back unchecked power from Big Tech and put it into the hands of the American people. And it’s why today, I am releasing my AI Accountability Agenda — a set of real, actionable answers for the problems Americans are facing right now.” Senator Markey’s AI Accountability Agenda highlights six key priorities: Giving Power Back to Workers Protecting the Privacy and Safety of Children and Teens Keeping Civil Rights Safe from AI Bias Putting Humans First in Healthcare Safeguarding Against Energy and Environmental Impacts of Data Centers Sharing the AI Wealth (1) Giving Power Back to Workers Workers should not be the test subjects or casualties of unchecked automation, nor should AI give employers a blank check to surveil workers, replace human judgment with unaccountable algorithms, or eliminate jobs while shifting the costs onto workers and communities. To address this, Senator Markey has introduced: The No Robot Bosses Act, which would put safeguards on the use of automated decision systems - including AI - to make work-related decisions such as hiring or firing. The Stop Spying Bosses Act, which would curtail the growing use of surveillance technology in the workplace. The Warehouse Worker Protection Act, which would prohibit dangerous speed quotas and that threaten warehouse worker safety and lead to high injury rates. (2) Protecting the Privacy and Safety of Children and Teens Senator Markey has introduced legislation that would ensure that Big Tech companies cannot exploit, manipulate, and target children and teens for their own profits: The Youth AI Privacy (YAP) Act , which would require artificial intelligence (AI) companies to implement privacy safeguards in their AI chatbots. The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), which passed out of the Senate by unanimous consent and would ban targeted advertising to children and teens; provide families with an “eraser button” to delete a kid’s personal data; and establish strict limits on the collection of personal information from minors. (3) Keeping Civil Rights Safe from AI Bias AI developers and organizations deploying AI models have an obligation to test and fix biased and discriminatory algorithms used in making critical life decisions, such as those involving employment, banking, healthcare, and criminal justice. That’s why Senator Markey introduced the most comprehensive AI civil rights legislation in Congress: The AI Civil Rights Act , which would prevent companies from using biased and discriminatory AI-powered algorithms to help make critical decisions in Americans’ lives. The Eliminating Bias in Algorithmic Systems (BIAS) Act , which would ensure that every federal agency that uses, funds, or oversees AI has an office of civil rights focused on combating AI bias and discrimination. (4) Putting Humans First in Healthcare Patients deserve care from qualified human beings, and healthcare workers must be able to exercise their professional judgment without fear of retaliation for disagreeing with an AI system. That is why Senator Markey has introduced legislation to ensure that AI supports healthcare professionals: The Right to Override Act would require healthcare facilities and health plans to create a human override option for AI decisions and protect healthcare workers who disagree with an AI recommendation while providing care in their best judgment for the patient. (5) Safeguarding Against Energy and Environmental Impacts of Data Centers Effective oversight of infrastructure that powers AI requires both transparency into AI’s environmental impacts and strong guardrails for the physical infrastructure powering it, so that data center operators are held accountable to the communities in which they operate. That is why Senator Markey has authored legislation that addresses the public health, energy, and environmental costs of the infrastructure that powers AI: The AI Environmental Impacts Act , which would require artificial intelligence (AI) data centers to report on their environmental and energy-related impacts, with fines levied for those that fail to comply. A discussion draft of the new Protecting Communities from Data Center Impacts Act , which would require data centers to receive a certificate from the federal government prior to construction that affirms the data center has met minimum standards for energy, environmental, and economic impacts. The legislation would also require data centers pay for necessary grid infrastructure and fund clean energy and storage to meet their capacity needs, as well as commit to high labor standards. (6) Sharing the AI Wealth The AI economy should not become another engine for inequality. The wealthiest beneficiaries of AI should pay their fair share just like working people do. That is why Senator Markey has introduced: The Equal Tax Act , which would tax investment income at the same rate as ordinary labor income for individuals making more than $1 million. ###