Ban the Bots · Live tracker

How to Fight Back Against AI

Companies, unions, governments, and individuals drawing the line on AI — lawsuits, no-AI policies, worker protections, legislation, and bans. 106 actions documented.

Resistance Tracker
All Resistance Actions
106 documented actions against AI by companies, unions & governments
Unions
Unions Fighting Back
Labor unions negotiating AI protections and striking over automation
8 documented actions →
Government
Government & Legislation
Laws, bans, and regulatory actions limiting AI deployment
63 documented actions →
Companies
Companies That Say No
Businesses with public no-AI policies or who've reversed AI adoption
33 documented actions →
Tracker
AI Lawsuits
Copyright suits, worker cases, and class actions against AI companies
View tracker →
Tracker
Pro-Human Legislation
Laws protecting workers, families, the environment, and your rights from AI
63 laws tracked →
Free Template
No-AI Policy Template
Free template for freelancers, artists, and businesses to adopt a no-AI policy
Download free →

Pick AI-Free Tools

Search, browse, paraphrase, and listen — without an AI in the loop
Search engines without AI
DuckDuckGo, Kagi, Brave, Mojeek + how to kill AI Overviews on Google.
Browsers without AI
LibreWolf, Mullvad, Pale Moon, Waterfox + how to disable Copilot / Gemini / Leo.
Text-to-speech without AI
Traditional engines that don't clone voices — eSpeak, Festival, Pico, legacy SAPI.
Paraphrasing without AI
Manual rewriting workflows + thesaurus-driven paraphrasers that won't trip AI detectors.
Phones without AI
Dumbphones, Linux phones, and how to turn off Apple Intelligence, Galaxy AI, and Pixel AI.
Pinterest alternatives without AI
Cara, Are.na, Niice — artist-first boards without AI-generated pins.

Gold Star Companies

Putting people over profit — verified pro-human AI policies
Blizzard Entertainment (Overwatch team)
No Ai Policy · Tech
Overwatch game director Aaron Keller announced in early 2026 that the development team is 'not comfortable' shipping AI-…
Feb 2026
San Diego Comic-Con
No Ai Policy · Creative
San Diego Comic-Con reversed its previous AI-permissive policy and banned all AI-generated art from its 2026 Art Show in…
Jan 2026
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA)
No Ai Policy · Creative
SFWA updated the Nebula Awards rules in December 2025 to disqualify any work written 'either wholly or partially' using …
Dec 2025
Weta FX
Pledge · Entertainment
Weta FX, one of the world's leading visual effects studios, partnered with Amazon Web Services to build AI tools explici…
Dec 2025
iHeartMedia
No Ai Policy · Media
iHeartMedia launched its 'Guaranteed Human' initiative in November 2025, pledging that all its radio stations will not u…
Nov 2025
DC Comics
No Ai Policy · Creative
DC Comics president and publisher Jim Lee declared at New York Comic Con 2025 that the company will never use AI-generat…
Oct 2025
Spotify
Worker Protection · Entertainment
Spotify strengthened protections for human artists in September 2025, announcing that vocal impersonation of artists usi…
Sep 2025
Klarna
Worker Protection · Finance
Klarna reversed its 2024 decision to replace 700 customer service agents with AI, publicly announcing in May 2025 that i…
May 2025
Penguin Random House
No Ai Policy · Media
Penguin Random House became the first of the Big Five publishers to add explicit language to all of its books' copyright…
Oct 2024
Dark Horse Comics
No Ai Policy · Creative
Dark Horse Comics announced on July 18, 2024 that it does not support the use of AI-generated material in any works it p…
Jul 2024
Blizzard Entertainment (World of Warcraft team)
No Ai Policy · Tech
World of Warcraft franchise director John Hight publicly confirmed at GDC 2024 that Blizzard is not using generative AI …
Mar 2024
Adobe
Worker Protection · Technology / Software
Adobe launched a $1 million fund to compensate stock photo contributors whose work was used to train its Firefly AI mode…
Mar 2024

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106 documented actions pushing back against AI.

Government Legislation
State of New York Privacy · NY · Jul 2022

New York State enacted amendments to the law governing automated employment decisions (the nation's only state law on automated employment decisions at the time) requiring any company using AI tools to screen resumes or rank candidates for jobs in New York to obtain an annual bias audit from an inde…

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Government Legislation
City of New York Privacy · NY · Dec 2021

New York City Local Law 49 of 2021 bans the NYPD and other city agencies from using predictive policing software and requires all surveillance technology acquisitions to go through a public review process. The law was driven by evidence that predictive policing algorithms — which use AI to forecast …

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Government Legislation
City of New York Jobs · NY · Nov 2021

New York City Local Law 144 of 2021 requires employers and employment agencies using automated employment decision tools (AEDTs) to conduct independent bias audits before deploying them for hiring or promotion. Results of the bias audit must be made publicly available, and candidates must be notifie…

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Government Legislation
State of Colorado Jobs · CO · Jun 2021

Colorado SB21-169 restricts insurers from using external consumer data and algorithms in ways that create unfair discrimination. The law requires insurers to demonstrate that AI and algorithmic tools used for underwriting, pricing, and claims do not unfairly discriminate against protected classes. R…

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Government Legislation
City of Portland Privacy · OR · Sep 2020

Portland, Oregon enacted two ordinances in 2020 banning facial recognition technology — one for city agencies and another, uniquely, for private businesses operating in public-facing spaces within the city. The private-sector ban was the first of its kind in the US and prohibits retailers, hotels, r…

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Government Legislation
State of Maryland Jobs · MD · May 2020

Maryland HB 1202 prohibits employers from using facial recognition technology during job interviews without applicant consent. Employers who use facial recognition in pre-employment interviews must first obtain written consent from the applicant, making Maryland one of the first states to restrict A…

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Government Legislation
State of Illinois Jobs · IL · Aug 2019

The Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act (Public Act 101-0260) requires employers to notify applicants when AI is used to analyze video interviews and to explain how the AI evaluates candidates. Employers must obtain consent before using AI analysis and must delete video recordings u…

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Government Legislation
City of San Francisco Privacy · CA · May 2019

San Francisco Ordinance 103-19 was the first law in the United States to ban city government agencies from using facial recognition technology. The ordinance prohibits all city departments, including the police, from acquiring or using facial recognition or surveillance technology without prior boar…

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Government Legislation
European Union Privacy · EU · May 2018

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, Regulation 2016/679) includes Article 22, which gives individuals the right not to be subject to solely automated decisions, including AI profiling, that significantly affect them. Data protection authorities have used GDPR to impose major fines on AI…

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Government Legislation
State of Illinois Privacy · IL · Oct 2008

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA, 740 ILCS 14) requires companies to obtain written consent before collecting biometric data including fingerprints, retina scans, and facial geometry used in AI recognition systems. Companies must publicly disclose retention schedules and cannot s…

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See the other side: Track AI-driven layoffs, lawsuits against AI companies, and read the full AI backlash explainer. Pushing back on biometric surveillance? Read the airport facial recognition guide — including how to opt out of TSA facial scanning at the checkpoint.

Latest briefings on the AI backlash