Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly voiced concerns last month over the proposed creation of a national artificial intelligence regulatory body, during a previously undisclosed phone call with US President Donald Trump. This marks the latest instance of a top global tech executive stepping into a contentious policy debate within the White House.
The proposal, heavily championed by Nobel laureate and Google scientist Demis Hassabis, has gained backing from several senior White House officials. It envisions the creation of an independent body modeled on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) — an organization that operates under the supervision of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and handles securities industry oversight. Under this plan, White House officials envision the new agency would review advanced AI models, testing their potential risks before they are deployed at scale.
According to a senior White House official with direct knowledge of the call, when Trump spoke directly with Zuckerberg during the week of August 17, the Meta CEO voiced opposition to the plan. Another individual familiar with the matter noted that Zuckerberg did not ask Trump to shift his stance, but instead told him that any individuals the White House planned to appoint to such a regulatory body should reflect Trump's own approach to AI regulation — an approach widely seen as leaning toward lighter oversight. The same source indicated Trump initiated the call to Zuckerberg.
The White House official said that in mid-August, senior administration aides first briefed Trump on the proposal to establish an industry regulator along the lines of FINRA, and subsequently engaged separately with major tech companies including Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic — leading up to the Trump-Zuckerberg conversation. FINRA is a self-regulatory organization that acts as the frontline watchdog for US securities markets, setting and enforcing new rules for broker-dealer firms. It reports to the SEC, and its board includes representatives from member firms. The body oversees more than 3,000 financial companies, which also fund its operations.
However, even if an AI industry oversight body's duties might include reviewing new models, FINRA itself rarely approves new types of investment products. The concept of an AI regulatory body has been promoted by Google's Hassabis. In a July article, he proposed that the US should create a new "standards body" modeled on FINRA to address AI-related risks such as new cybersecurity threats. A government official familiar with the matter disclosed that Hassabis briefed White House officials on this idea over the summer. A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment, while a White House spokesperson issued a statement saying: "The Trump administration is committed to balancing innovation and safety in AI policy-making."
The call between Zuckerberg and Trump underscores the conflicting pressures senior White House officials face in shaping AI policy, and reflects the reality that any plan drafted by the administration could face private pushback from companies directly to the president, introducing uncertainty. This is not the first time the current administration's AI policy process has hit a snag. In May, tech investor and White House adviser David Sacks called Trump on the very morning of a scheduled signing ceremony for a sweeping AI executive order, successfully convincing him to delay the signing and derailing the order's rollout.
Over the past few months, private communications between Trump and tech executives have become an informal part of the policy-making process. These conversations have at times slowed or altered initiatives after preliminary plans were formed within the government, much to the frustration of senior White House officials. The call with Zuckerberg did not eliminate the idea of creating a new industry regulator, and the proposal remains under active discussion within the White House.