These 12 Major Tech Laws Take Effect in 2026. Here’s What You Need to Know.

The evolution of artificial intelligence has outpaced government regulations in recent years, but 2026 marks a bit of a turning point, as a wave of ambitious laws will address childhood safety, data privacy and other thorny issues by digging into the nitty gritty of how this technology is developed and deployed. Almost all of these new tech laws have been adopted by individual states, as the federal government has taken a fairly hands-off approach to AI regulation as a whole. In 2025, 38 states adopted roughly 100 laws regulating AI in some form, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But the future of these laws is uncertain due to pending legal challenges from industry lobbyists and further scrutinization from the Trump administration’s AI Litigation Task Force, which was established to challenge state laws that do not “sustain and enhance the United States’ global AI dominance.” Republicans had previously proposed a 10-year moratorium on state AI regulations, but the U.S. Senate shut that idea down on a 99-1 vote.

Legal challenges aside, there are a wide range of notable tech laws hitting the books in 2026. Below, we break down a dozen of the most high-profile rules taking effect, how they compare to other legislative efforts and any legal challenges filed as of January 2026.

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12 Tech Laws That Take Effect in 2026

The Take It Down Act - Federal

The federal Take It Down Act makes it illegal to publish sexually explicit images of a person— including AI-generated deepfakes — without their consent. The law was signed into law in 2025, but it gave platforms one year to establish a protocol for takedown requests, which must be honored within 48 hours under the law. That one-year deadline is coming up on May 19, 2026. Critics have said the legislation is overly broad, triggering censorship concerns. 

The Transparency in Frontier AI Act - California

California’s high-profile Senate Bill 53, also known as the Transparency in Frontier AI Act, went into effect January 1. The bill requires large AI developers to disclose how they’ve incorporated industry practices into their safety framework and to explain how they assess and mitigate risks. It also provides a mechanism for companies to report safety incidents, and it protects whistleblowers who report safety issues. 

The Companion Chatbot Law - California

California’s Senate Bill 243 also went into effect at the start of the year. The law requires so-called AI companions to develop a protocol for detecting and responding to comments about suicide or self-harm, and to implement reasonable measures to prevent a chatbot from producing sexually explicit content. Chatbots must also remind users they’re talking to an AI, and developers can be held liable if their failure to comply with the law results in injuries. By 2027, companies that develop companion chatbots will be required to report their suicide prevention protocols to the state. 

The Delete Act - California

Senate Bill 362, also known as the Delete Act, requires data brokers — the companies that collect and store users’ personal data — to delete users’ personal information upon request. Signed in 2023, the law took effect at the beginning of this year with the launch of the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP), which allows Californians to send a data removal request to more than 500 registered data brokers with a single form. Data brokers are slated to start processing requests on August 1. 

Law Enforcement Agencies: Artificial Intelligence - California

Senate Bill 524 requires law enforcement officers to disclose when they have used AI to prepare an official report. The law requires agencies to retain the first draft of an AI-generated report and maintain an audit trail of the draft’s history. It also prohibits officers from using an AI-generated draft as their statement. 

Consumer Protections For Artificial Intelligence - Colorado

Colorado’s Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence, or Senate Bill 24-205, requires developers to “use reasonable care” in protecting consumers from “any known or reasonably foreseeable risks” of algorithmic discrimination in education, employment and government services. The law was originally scheduled to take effect in February 2026, but its implementation has been delayed until June 30, 2026. 

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House Bill 3773 - Illinois

House Bill 3773 amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to prohibit employers from using artificial intelligence to make a discriminatory hiring or employment-related decision on the basis of a person’s zip code or a legally protected characteristic, like race or ethnicity. Employers must also notify workers if they are using AI for an employment decision. The law, which went into effect at the beginning of the year, joins Colorado’s new AI law and a New York City law from 2023 in regulating the use of AI in employment decisions.

The Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act - Nebraska

Nebraska’s Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act is designed to protect minors by requiring higher privacy settings, restricting data collection and prohibiting dark patterns or manipulative design practices that encourage compulsive social media use. The act took effect on January 1, but the state’s attorney general will not take enforcement action until July 1. Vermont passed a similar law that takes effect in 2027. California passed similar legislation in 2022, but its implementation has been temporarily blocked due to a legal challenge. Maryland’s version of the law, which took effect in 2024, has also been challenged. 

The App Store Accountability Act - Utah

Utah’s App Store Accountability Act, or Senate Bill 142, calls for app stores to verify users’ ages and require minors to obtain parental consent before downloading an app. Social media companies like Meta supported the bill, as it shifts the onus of age verification off their shoulders and onto providers like Apple and Google. This law took effect in May 2025, but app stores and app developers were given until May 6, 2026 to comply. Texas was slated to implement a similar law, SB 2420, at the start of 2026, but a court has temporarily blocked it from taking effect.

The Digital Choice Act - Utah

Utah’s Digital Choice Act, also known as House Bill 418, requires social media companies to make users’ personal data — including their connections, photos and interactions — transferable from one platform to another. The law, which goes into effect July 1, 2026, is intended to give users ownership over their personal data and give them greater control over which platforms they choose to share their data with. To comply with the law, social media companies will have to find a solution to make their platforms interoperable with their competitors. 

The Texas Responsible AI Governance Act - Texas 

House Bill 149, also known as the Texas Responsible AI Governance Act, prohibits companies from capturing a person’s biometric data without their consent or creating AI systems designed to manipulate human behavior, make discriminatory decisions or produce deepfakes of sexually explicit content involving children. Governmental agencies, meanwhile, must disclose when consumers are interacting with an AI system. 

The Consumer Data Protection Act - Virginia

Kids’ screen time has been restricted under Virginia’s new Consumer Data Protection Act, which took effect at the start of 2026. The law will require social media platforms to develop an age screening mechanism and limit children younger than 16 to one hour of social media per day, unless a parent consents to increasing or decreasing that time limit. The law is being challenged in court, so its implementation could be stalled if the court issues an injunction.

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