Hey, Congress: Please make sure the ‘big bill’ doesn’t let Big Tech destroy US

We’re not convinced that Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s excellent intervention is enough to fix an obscure part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that threatens to destroy . . . The Post, among others.

It’s generally described as “a 10-year moratorium on state regulation of Artificial Intelligence,” but this key section of OBBBA actually seems to be a far broader license for Big Tech — one that could protect it from any consequences for (among other wrongs) openly stealing the work product of any and all of the news industry to train AIs or simply sell ads of off other people’s content.

Blackburn (R-Tenn.), backed by other House and Senate Republicans, has won a compromise that 1) makes the restrictions last only five years, and 2) explicitly does not protect child-sexual-abuse material, unauthorized use of a person’s likeness and other deceptive practices.

Sounds good, but we’d suggest adding two more explicit provisions — each, notwithstanding any other language in the measure:

First, that this does not cover any tech in wide use as of, say, Jan. 1, 2024: Nothing gets “grandfathered in” under cover of protecting the nation’s lead in developing AI.

Second, that it does not grant any new criminal or civil immunity with regard to intellectual-property theft: Even if you’re using our stuff for AI research, we can still sue to make you pay.

We understand that 50 states each trying to set legal frameworks for AI development could block vital innovations with an ocean of red tape; that’s a legitimate worry.

But don’t give the tech industry carte blanche with a badly written law.

Plus, Congress likely does need to set out federal rules on AI research to stop abuses likely already under way in darker corners of the industry.

“Move fast and break things” is one popular tech slogan; lawmakers should take care they don’t license the industry to break us.