TLDRs;
- Meta forms a bipartisan super PAC to counter over 1,100 state-level AI regulation bills introduced this year.
- The American Technology Excellence Project aims to back candidates supportive of AI innovation and friendly to industry interests.
- Rivals like OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz have also funded massive PACs to influence AI policy nationwide.
- The fight could accelerate innovation or hand more power to tech giants at the expense of public oversight.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is entering the political arena with a new California-based political action committee (PAC) designed to fight back against mounting state regulations targeting artificial intelligence.
The PAC, officially named Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across (Meta) California, will focus on backing candidates who support pro-innovation AI policies. The move comes as California lawmakers introduce a wave of tech-related bills that could impose new restrictions on how companies develop and deploy artificial intelligence.
According to a Meta spokesperson, the effort is not about partisanship but about ensuring California remains at the forefront of global technology.
“As home to many of the world’s leading AI companies, California’s innovation economy has an outsized impact on America’s growth and competitiveness. Sacramento’s regulatory environment, however, risks slowing innovation and putting California’s leadership at risk,” the spokesperson said.
AI at the Heart of Political Strategy
Meta’s PAC is designed to be a defensive and offensive tool, opposing bills it sees as harmful while actively promoting candidates aligned with a pro-AI agenda.
The company highlighted three key priorities, supporting AI research and development, advocating for parental authority in children’s digital safety, and ensuring U.S. leadership in emerging technologies.
This new push aligns Meta with other Silicon Valley giants such as Andreessen Horowitz, Airbnb, and Uber, all of which have begun spending heavily to shape California’s legislative direction. The backdrop is a global race against China, where companies and governments are investing heavily in advanced AI systems. Meta argues that restrictive regulation at the state level could weaken America’s ability to compete.
Newsom and Lawmakers Signal Guardrails Ahead
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited and seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, has embraced AI as a central pillar of California’s economic strategy.
In recent months, he has promoted workforce training programs to prepare students for AI-driven jobs, while also calling for “workable guardrails” around issues like deepfakes and AI-enabled scams.
“California did not become the innovation hub of the nation by turning its back on new technology,” a spokesperson for Newsom’s office said. “We will ensure future growth happens responsibly and safely.”
Still, tensions remain between Sacramento lawmakers seeking to regulate AI risks and tech firms that argue overregulation will stifle progress. Newsom’s policies highlight the complex role California plays as both a global innovation hub and a laboratory for tech governance.
Stakes High Ahead of 2026 Elections
Meta’s timing is deliberate. With California’s midterm elections looming in 2026, the PAC intends to influence a wide slate of races in a state where the technology industry accounted for nearly $1 trillion of the gross regional product in 2022, roughly 30% of the economy.
Analysts say Meta’s political intervention underscores how AI has shifted from a technological discussion to a political flashpoint. As lawmakers weigh bills on safety, ethics, and consumer protections, industry players like Meta see no choice but to directly engage in shaping the future rules of the game.
