Virginia was among the first states in the nation to write new, online privacy laws. Now lawmakers are also asking if they should be ahead of the curve on artificial intelligence as well.
The 2026 Virginia legislative session starts in just over four months. A meeting of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science Wednesday morning gave a peek into what could be the next hot legislative topic: artificial intelligence.
Delegate Mike Cherry’s ears perked at concerns over AI generated content, and how it can end up reposted on other platforms without proper attribution.
“They wanted people to know it was AI generated, they wanted people to know it was satire and then another platform takes it and puts it out there as if it's true,” he said. "It's about finding commonality."
Legislators were discussing a UVA School of Data Science study that suggested “existing consumer protection laws do not provide clear, proactive labeling requirements” for AI generated content.
A failed bill from Delegate Bonita Anthony during the last legislative session was touched on again Wednesday. It dealt with algorithmic pricing for renters. She said the bill was put on hold over federal litigation, the Realpage case which allowed landlords to work together to monitor and set rental prices.
That case is ongoing, but Anthony said she hopes to bring it back in 2026.
“It’s more about transparency, more about consumer protection," Bonita told Radio IQ. "That’s how we’re going to amend this piece and take out the bureaucracy.”
Committee chair Delegate Cliff Hayes said he was intrigued by a few of the studies, but he imagined bills like Anthony’s, referred back to the committee to be reworked, are more likely to return. As for new AI regulations?
“We have to be measured in our approach to make sure we’re not doing as much harm as we think we’re doing in terms of good,” Hayes said.
Cherry, meanwhile, said he'd hope the federal government would take the lead in the AI regulation space.
"But they tend to be slower than the states," he said. "My concern is the political spectrum: it's super easy to create a video of someone like me saying something, it put out as if it's true, and it's virtually impossible to prove that it's not."
"We need to figure that out," Cherry warned.
The meeting also comes as California, the first state to provide digital privacy laws before Virginia, is working to regulate AI. But Hayes said there was no need to get too far ahead.
"Those ideas that happen to be legitimate, popular, solve problems, we need to pick those up and look at them," he said, noting even California had to go back and amend that data privacy law after it was passed. "We need to make sure we're doing it in a proper way."
Legislators also got an update on the state’s broadband expansion efforts Wednesday, as well.
According to research presented by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, broadband access in the Commonwealth grew from 85% in 2017 to 92% in 2023.
After the presentation, Cherry wondered if more investment from the state would be worth it.
“We keep pouring dollars into it, according to their data more people aren’t adapting, when do we reach that breaking point of not putting more money into it?” he asked.
The research suggested the broadband adaption number was lower among lower income Virginians.
Concerns come as the Trump administration works to overhaul the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, which could see federal funds for broadband expansion cut.
The 2026 legislative session starts in January.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
