Protect

Protect Coloradans and the Environment

The opportunity

77%

of voters, Republican and Democrat alike, prefer a candidate who protects consumers and kids from AI harms (Transparency Coalition, 2026).

Voters want a leader who protects them, because certain AI providers are already hurting people, from chatbots and deepfakes that target kids to systems that deny care and rig the rent. A candidate who holds the companies behind those harms accountable earns their trust, and their vote.

Six harms are already hitting Coloradans

Each of the six harms below is documented in AI products today, and each is already a wrong the law addresses when a person causes it. The framework names them so the protection is specific: the private right of action and the attorney general's enforcement power both attach to these six harms, and only these.

AI-generated child sexual abuse material
Non-consensual sexual deepfakes
Chatbot manipulation preceding self-harm
AI companions exploiting emotional dependency for commercial gain
Automated denial of essential care or benefits
Algorithmic price-fixing that raises what people pay

90%

of Americans say families should be able to sue an AI company that harms their child (YouGov, 2025)

AI companies answer for the harm they cause

Accountability falls on the providers that cause one of the six named harms, with penalties scaled to global revenue so even a trillion-dollar company changes course. The standard reaches a provider wherever it is based, and covers the healthcare AI most state laws skip.

87%

of Americans say AI companies should answer for the harms they cause (Fathom, 2026)

AI runs only on clean power and uses water responsibly

Colorado's data centers are regulated to run on clean power and use water efficiently, which matters in a state where water is already scarce. As electricity demand climbs more than 40% by 2035 (Xcel), large operators must create their own clean power, easing the load on the grid families rely on.

Clean-energy standard for large operators
Water-efficiency standard, measured and capped
Public reporting of energy and water use

78%

of Americans worry new data centers will raise their energy bills (Consumer Reports, 2025)

What this creates

71%

of Republicans also prefer a candidate who supports acting on AI, so this stand wins in both parties (AI Policy Institute, 2024).

Be the first state to make AI answer to the people it affects

Built to fit the child-safety, fraud, and consumer-protection powers the March 20, 2026 federal framework leaves to the states, so the protections hold when a Coloradan is hurt.

The ask

We ask Colorado's next governor, attorney general, and senator to endorse the movement and champion these protections.

Establish a private right of action, limited to the six named harms, so a Coloradan hurt by one of them can take the provider to court, the recourse families are already pursuing against AI companies today.
The attorney general acts on the six named harms, and only those harms, holding the providers that cause them accountable with penalties scaled to global revenue.
Reward responsible builders with safe-harbor protection for adopting the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and adhering to a safety standard, so good actors get clear rules and a right to cure before lawsuits.

When Colorado protects Coloradans from AI's harms, it earns the trust to govern and lead with it.

See the full ten-commitment scorecard

Sources

Voter preference for protecting people from AI (77%, Republicans and Democrats alike): Transparency Coalition, 2026. Republican crossover (71% prefer a candidate who supports regulating AI): AI Policy Institute, 2024. Corroborated by Fox News (nearly 80% call government action on AI urgent, 2026) and Gallup (97% say AI should be subject to rules, 2025).
Support for a family's right to sue over AI harm to a child (90%): YouGov for the Institute for Family Studies, 2025.
Support for holding AI companies accountable for harms (87%): Fathom national survey, fielded by Forbes Tate Partners, 2026.
Projected peak electricity demand, 2021 to 2035: Xcel Energy. Concern that new data centers will raise energy bills (78%): Consumer Reports, 2025.
Legal basis for the named harms: federal PROTECT Act (CSAM), TAKE IT DOWN Act (deepfakes), tort and consumer-protection law (chatbot and companion harms), insurance bad-faith law (claim denial), and the Sherman Act (price-fixing). The six named harms are Colorado AI framework proposals.
Federal framework: EO 14365 (Dec 11, 2025) and the March 20, 2026 National AI Policy Framework, which preserves state police powers over child safety, fraud, and consumer protection.