moratorium

noun

1. An authorization to a debtor, permitting temporary suspension of payments.
2. A suspension of an ongoing activity.

   “Canada may put a moratorium on cloning for research.”

   “It so happened that at that time the moratorium on the death penalty caused by the Supreme Court decision in the Furman case was still in effect.”

   “If such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium.”

   “Proponents of an AI moratorium had argued that a patchwork of state and local AI laws is hindering progress in the AI industry and the ability of U.S. firms to compete with China.”