Tech Giants Donate $2M+ to AG Groups Amid AI Regulation Lawsuits

Major artificial intelligence companies including OpenAI, Google, Meta, Amazon and Elon Musk’s xAI have contributed over $2 million to the national Democratic and Republican attorneys general campaign committees since the start of 2025. The donations came as state attorneys general across the United States stepped up enforcement actions, lawsuits and investigations targeting AI developers for alleged harms to children and deceptive safety claims.

According to IRS disclosures filed by the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) and the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), the contributions accelerated in 2025 and the first half of 2026. Google, Meta and Amazon each gave matching amounts in the second quarter of 2026: $250,000 to DAGA and RAGA from Google, $200,000 to both groups from Meta, and $125,000 to both organizations from Amazon. The Democratic group also received $25,000 from xAI in May 2026, despite ongoing litigation between xAI and California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Anthropic contributed $250,000 to RAGA on May 6, marking the company’s first donation to either national association. The contributions follow a wave of regulatory actions by state attorneys general. In June 2026, a coalition led by New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a subpoena to OpenAI seeking documents related to the treatment of minors and advertising practices. Earlier, in August 2025, a bipartisan group of 44 state attorneys general—led by Republicans in South Carolina and Tennessee and Democrats in Illinois and North Carolina—sent a letter to OpenAI, Meta, Google, xAI and other AI developers expressing “grave concerns” about children’s interactions with AI chatbots.

Follow-up correspondence in December 2025, led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday and New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, demanded stronger safeguards after reports of harmful interactions involving children and other vulnerable users.

The timing of xAI’s donation to DAGA has drawn attention because of the company’s legal dispute with Bonta. In December 2025, xAI filed a federal lawsuit against Bonta seeking to block AB 2013, a California law requiring AI developers to disclose their training data. xAI argued the disclosure requirements violated trade secrets and amounted to compelled speech. In January 2026, Bonta issued a cease-and-desist letter accusing xAI of distributing sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok, including content depicting minors. Bonta’s office said it had opened an investigation and demanded xAI halt the practice immediately.

A federal judge denied xAI’s request for a preliminary injunction in March 2026, allowing AB 2013 to take effect while litigation continues. Days later, on May 4, xAI contributed $25,000 to DAGA, its first donation to either national association.

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