Zuckerberg told Trump that the concept of a national AI regulatory agency is flawed

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed concerns about the plan to establish a national AI regulatory agency during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump last month. The proposal, advocated by Google DeepMind scientist Demis Hassabis and supported by some White House officials, aims to create an independent organization similar to FINRA to review and test potential risks before the broader deployment of advanced AI models. White House officials previewed the proposal to Trump and major tech companies, including Meta, in mid-August.

Trump spoke with Zuckerberg during the week of August 17. According to senior White House officials familiar with the conversation, Zuckerberg opposed the proposal. Another informed source indicated that Zuckerberg did not ask Trump to change his position but told him that the personnel of the regulatory agency the White House might appoint should reflect Trump's light-touch approach to AI, noting that Trump made the call first. The conversation did not kill the idea, which is still under consideration. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment. A White House spokesperson stated that the Trump administration is committed to balancing innovation and safety in AI policymaking.

In an article in August, Zuckerberg expressed skepticism about strict government regulation of new AI models, arguing that any policy that delays the release of models by even a month would pose significant risks to the U.S. leadership position relative to China. The government is considering a FINRA-like regulatory agency or a voluntary industry organization similar to the Motion Picture Association of America. Trump's former AI and crypto czar, David Sachs, opposed government regulatory agencies, calling them "the DMV of AI." Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark expressed support for the FINRA-like idea in a post in July.