Worried about surveillance, states enact privacy laws and restrict license plate readers
As part of its deportation efforts, the Trump administration has made a push for personal data.
How preemption worsens the AI accountability gap
COMMENTARY | The federal government wants to stop states regulating the technology, but doing so risks various harms and does not guarantee international leadership.
Budget uncertainty could hamper state and local tech skills development
States and localities must find alternative ways to support their digital inclusion efforts amid budget cuts, experts say.
New Jersey’s innovation office first to be enshrined in state law
In his final weeks in office, Gov. Phil Murphy codified the state’s digital delivery team, which is now known as the New Jersey Innovation Authority.
California tax revenue getting a boost from AI boom — but for how long?
As talk of a possible AI bubble grows, so does uncertainty around an important source of California tax money.
The data center rush in Appalachia
Big tech eyes coal country as AI demand soars, but rural communities push back.
States’ efforts to protect sensitive data from the feds could ramp up in the new year, experts say
Legal and policy pressure could be a key tool for states looking to shield their residents’ personal data from the federal government.
Leaders have ‘urgent responsibility’ on AI regulation and use, report says
The New Deal Forum lauded several state and local governments for embracing the technology to help improve government services. But areas like privacy, security and regulation need more attention, the group said.
2026 is set to be the year of agentic AI, industry predicts
Leaders from major technology companies said their clients are asking for more specific agentic AI solutions, and cloud computing and data transformation will pave the way.
Data center ‘gold rush’ pits local officials’ hunt for new revenue against residents’ concerns
Without state regulations to guide them, Georgia counties are taking vastly different approaches to managing the surge in data center proposals.
BEAD changes broke the law, federal watchdog finds
The Government Accountability Office found that last summer’s tweaks to the program should be submitted to Congress for approval before they can take effect.
Alabama lawmaker pushes for screen time limits for children
Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville, said research shows that less screen time for children from birth until five years old helps build social skills.
In 2026, more data center regulations could be coming in Maryland
It’s likely that large scale data centers, which have a large presence in neighboring Virginia, will make their way to Maryland in greater numbers in the years ahead.
What people really want from digital government services
COMMENTARY | Interactions with government happen at crucial moments in people’s lives, but can be dogged by confusing processes. Research shows they want simplicity.
AI’s elections impact likely to grow next year, report warns
Experts warned that 2025 was just the “tip of the iceberg” in how the technology could be used, especially in deepfakes and misinformation campaigns.
Inside Eric Adams’ school Chromebook spending spree in New York City
The Adams administration shelled out north of $320 million to give public school students Chromebooks that connect to the internet through cell service. Most already have internet at home.
5 reasons delivery teams should include policy experts in the age of AI
COMMENTARY | Policy experts are uniquely equipped to leverage AI in bridging the gap between policy and implementation.
Agriculture focuses on SNAP fraud, while experts worry EBT theft will go unabated
“The most damaging form of fraud in SNAP is fraud where the low-income recipients are the victims, not the perpetrators,” a senior analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities argues.
An AI tool built by local government, for local government
Washoe County, Nevada, is helping develop an AI tool aimed at meeting the unique needs and demands of its residents and employees.
‘Reckoning’ coming in state and local cyber
This year brought all manner of uncertainty about the relationship with the federal government to defend against threats. Next year looks to be more of the same, albeit with more intense threats.
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link
If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.
Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.
Cookie List
A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:
Strictly Necessary Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Functional Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Performance Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Social Media Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Targeting Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.