WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) introduced legislation to prevent the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) electronic public comment system from being sabotaged by foreign adversaries and Artificial Intelligence (AI) bots.

Currently, the federal government’s online comment system allows comments from individuals, organizations, or anonymous users, with no safeguards to prevent foreign individuals or AI bots from submitting comments relating to sweeping policy and rule proposals. The American Voices in Federal Lands Act would restrict the public comment process and ensure only American citizens are providing feedback on the policies affecting American energy production and federal lands.

“The overreaching rules and regulations coming out of the Biden administration’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have a significant impact on Wyoming’s farmers, ranchers, landowners, and energy industry. Their voices and opinions should be the top priority of the administration during public comment periods,” said Senator Barrasso. “Instead, the administration is allowing foreign adversaries and Artificial Intelligence (AI) bots to sabotage the public comment process. Bad actors, like Russia and China, are given the green light to influence policy and keep us from producing American energy. This bill will stop this interference and make sure only the American people have a say in Biden’s reckless energy and federal lands policies.”

The American Voices in Federal Lands Act would deter comments from AI from being submitted by implementing a “Completely Automated Public test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart” (CAPTCHA) system.

The Wyoming Stock Growers and the Wyoming Farm Bureau support limiting public comments received and considered by the BLM to only U.S. Citizens.

Co-sponsors of this legislation include U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and Steve Daines (R-Mont.).

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

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