How State Tech Policies in 2024 Set the Stage for 2025

EFF has been at the forefront of defending civil liberties in the digital age, with our activism team working across state, federal, and local levels to safeguard everyone's rights in the rapidly evolving tech landscape. As federal action on technology policy often lags, many are looking to state governments to lead the way in addressing tech-related issues. 

Drawing insights from the State of State Technology Policy 2024 report by NYU’s Center on Technology Policy and EFF's own experiences advocating in state legislatures, this blog offers a breakdown on why you should care about state policy, the number of bills passed around the country, and a look forward to the coming challenges and trends in state-level tech policy.

Why Should You Care?

State governments are increasingly becoming key players in tech policy, moving much faster than the federal government. This has become especially apparent in 2024, when states enacted significantly more legislation regulating technology than in previous years. 

“Why?,” you may ask. State legislatures were the most partisan they’ve been in decades in 2024, where we saw a notable increase in the presence of "trifecta" governments—states where one political party controls both chambers of the legislature and the governorship. With this unified control, states can pass laws more easily and quickly. 

Forty states operated under such single-party rule in 2024, the most in at least three decades. Amongst the 40 trifecta states, 29 states also had veto-proof supermajorities, meaning legislation can pass regardless of gubernatorial opposition. This overwhelming single-party control helped push through new tech regulations, with the Center on Technology Policy reporting that 89% percent of all tech-related bills passed in trifecta states. Even with shifts in the 2024 elections, where at least two states—Michigan and Minnesota—lost their trifectas, the trend of state governments driving technology policy is unlikely to slow down anytime soon.

2024 in Numbers: A Historic Year for State Tech Policy

According to the State of State Technology Policy 2024 report by NYU’s Center on Technology Policy:

• 238 technology-related bills passed across 46 states, marking a 163% increase from the previous year.
• 20 states passed 28 privacy-related bills, including 7 states enacting laws similar to the industry supported Washington Privacy Act.
• 18 states passed laws regulating biometric data, with 2 states introducing genetic privacy protections.
• 23 states passed 48 laws focused on “online child safety,” primarily targeting age verification for adult content and regulating social media.
• 41 states passed 107 bills regulating AI.
• 22 states passed laws addressing Non-Consensual Intimate Images (NCII) and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) generated or altered by AI or digital means.
• 17 states enacted 22 laws regulating the use of generative AI in political campaigns.
• 6 states created 19 new commissions, task forces, and legislative committees to assess the impact of AI and explore its regulation or beneficial use. For example,