Fine-Tuning, Model Customization & Derivative Liability

This is a rare case of direct bipartisan convergence from different motivations rather than a compromise where either side gave something up. The AI LEAD Act's sponsors, Sen. Durbin (D) and Sen. Hawley (R), arrive at the same federal product-liability framework from different directions: Hawley has long criticized Section 230 and tech-platform immunity from a conservative/populist angle, while Durbin approaches product liability from a traditional consumer-protection angle. The EU's parallel Article 25 substantial-modification threshold is a useful structural comparison but not a US partisan data point. The Innovation Party's position is mostly aligned with the AI LEAD Act's existing shape already. Its addition is the specific compute-based "substantial modification" threshold (borrowed from the EU model) to make the developer/fine-tuner line administrable, which neither the Hawley-Durbin bill nor any current state law has adopted.