AI Laws in Madison, Wisconsin
AI Laws USA tracks 27 AI rules that apply to people and businesses in Madison, Wisconsin: 10+ federal rules, 12 Wisconsin state-level rules, and 5 local Madison/county ordinances. Coverage is strongest on government use of AI, data-center siting and energy, consumer data privacy, and consumer protection. 15 of these rules are already in effect. Each entry below links to its official source.
Madison local AI rules (and Dane County)
5 local AI rules specific to Madison, Wisconsin or Dane County.
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In effect Strength: limited
Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year)
Madison, WI · Effective February 1, 2026 · City of Madison, WI one-year data-center moratorium (Feb. 2026)
Madison, Wisconsin's Common Council approved a one-year moratorium on issuing zoning approvals for new data centers larger than 10,000 sq ft while city staff develop permanent land-use and zoning standards for data-center uses.
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In effect Strength: moderate
Madison Face Surveillance Ban
Madison, WI · Enacted December 1, 2020 · Madison, Wis., Gen. Ordinances §§ 23.63–23.64
Madison bans city agencies, including police, from acquiring or using facial recognition technology, with narrow exceptions for identifying victims of human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, and missing children. Works alongside the city's surveillance technology ordinance requiring annual compliance reports.
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In effect Strength: limited
Use of Surveillance Technology Ordinance (Ordinance 59300; M
Madison, WI · Effective January 1, 2020 · Use of Surveillance Technology Ordinance (Ordinance 59300; MGO 23.63)
Madison requires city agencies to notify the Mayor and Common Council and route surveillance-technology acquisitions through Council approval, plus annual public reporting on surveillance technology use.
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In effect Strength: limited
Ordinance ORD-20-00056 prohibiting city-agency use of facial
Madison, WI · Effective December 1, 2020 · Ordinance ORD-20-00056 prohibiting city-agency use of facial recognition technology
Madison's Common Council voted 17-2 to bar city agencies from acquiring or using facial recognition technology or facial-surveillance-derived information, with narrow exceptions for human-trafficking and missing/exploited-children cases.
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In effect Strength: limited
Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium
Dane County, WI · Effective June 4, 2026 · Dane County, WI 18-month hyperscale data-center moratorium (June 4, 2026)
Dane County, Wisconsin (home to Madison) approved an 18-month moratorium on hyperscale data centers (defined as 5,000+ servers and 10,000+ sq ft) in the 26 unincorporated county towns subject to county zoning authority, while officials draft permanent regulations.
Wisconsin-level AI rules most relevant to Madison
12 Wisconsin state rules apply to residents and businesses in Madison. Showing the 8 most relevant to Madison's local picture; 4 more are on the Wisconsin jurisdiction page.
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In effect Strength: limited
We Energies Very Large Customer (VLC) Data Center Tariff Ord
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (We Energies) · Effective April 24, 2026 · We Energies Very Large Customer (VLC) Data Center Tariff Order
The Wisconsin PSC approved but overhauled We Energies' data center tariff, lowering the eligibility threshold from 500 MW to 100 MW, extending the minimum contract term to 15 years, and removing a capacity-only option so data centers pay their full share and existing customers are not subsidizing them.
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In effect Strength: moderate
Oneida Nation (WI) temporary data center moratorium (2026)
Oneida Nation (WI) · Effective July 22, 2026 · Oneida Nation of Wisconsin Business Committee Resolution 07-22-26-B (July 22, 2026)
The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin's Business Committee adopted Resolution 07-22-26-B on July 22, 2026, imposing a temporary moratorium on the development, construction, and operation of data centers on Oneida Nation lands. The Business Committee found that incomplete information currently exists regarding the potential impacts of data center development and desired to provide adequate time for consultation with Oneida Nation members, technical experts, governmental partners, utility providers, and other stakeholders concerning the potential costs and benefits of such facilities. The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin is a federally recognized tribe located near Green Bay in Brown and Outagamie Counties, with approximately 16,000 enrolled members. The moratorium joins a growing list of tribal government restrictions on data-center development enacted in 2026 by the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma (March), the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians (April), the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (May), the Cherokee Nation (August), and the Hualapai Tribe (September).
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In effect Strength: limited
State of Wisconsin Acceptable Technology Use, Access, and Se
Wisconsin · Effective March 10, 2025 · State of Wisconsin Acceptable Technology Use, Access, and Security Policy (includes AI-use provisions)
The Wisconsin Department of Administration's enterprise technology policy governs acceptable use of state IT resources by executive-branch employees and incorporates guidance on the use of artificial intelligence.
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In effect Strength: limited
Empowering Lifelong Learning: AI Guidance for Enhancing K-12
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) · Effective July 29, 2024 · Empowering Lifelong Learning: AI Guidance for Enhancing K-12 and Library Education
Wisconsin's education department released 22-page guidance for K-12 classrooms and libraries covering core AI concepts, ethics/data policy, security, professional development, and curriculum integration.
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In effect Strength: limited
WI drone-surveillance ban
Wisconsin · Effective April 10, 2014 · Wis. Stat. §§ 942.10, 175.55
Wisconsin made it a Class A misdemeanor to use a drone to observe or record any person in a place where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and requires police to obtain a warrant before using drones for surveillance.
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In effect Strength: limited
WI PDD Act 13 (2017)
Wisconsin · Effective July 1, 2017 · Wis. Stat. § 346.804; 2017 Wis. Act 13
Wisconsin authorized sidewalk delivery robots up to 80 lb at up to 10 mph, requires operators to carry $100,000 in liability insurance, and allows cities to set additional rules but not outright bans.
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In effect Strength: limited
WI EO 211
WI · Effective August 23, 2023 · Wis. Exec. Order No. 211 (Aug. 23, 2023)
Governor Evers's EO 211 created a workforce-focused AI Task Force that produced a 2024 advisory action plan on AI's labor-market impact, with recommendations for workforce development and reskilling.
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Blocked / in litigation
Ostergaard v. Microsoft — data center noise class action (2026)
Wisconsin · Effective July 1, 2026 · Ostergaard v. Microsoft Corp., No. 2:26-cv-01169-JPS (E.D. Wis. filed July 1, 2026)
Three homeowners — Garret Ostergaard, David Wade and Joy Wade — filed a putative class action against Microsoft Corporation on 2026-07-01 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin over noise from Microsoft's 'Fairwater' AI data center on Braun Road in the Village of Mount Pleasant. The complaint alleges the facility, a multi-building campus of roughly 1.2 million square feet requiring hundreds of megawatts, emits unreasonable and excessive noise onto surrounding residential properties through its cooling systems and backup generators, causing loss of use and enjoyment and diminished property value. The pleaded counts are Count I private nuisance — substantial and unreasonable interference alleged to be intentional, knowing, reckless and/or negligent, recurring, ongoing and abatable with ordinary care — and Count II negligence, for negligently constructing, maintaining and operating the facility including inadequate soundproofing.
Federal AI rules that apply in Madison, Wisconsin
These federal rules apply everywhere in the United States, including Madison, Wisconsin. Showing the 10 strongest and most recent.
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In effect Strength: stronger
TVA data center capacity commitment charge (2026)
Tennessee Valley Authority · Effective October 1, 2026 · Tenn. Valley Auth. Bd. of Dirs. — Data Center Capacity Commitment Charge (approved Aug. 20, 2026; eff. Oct. 1, 2026)
The Tennessee Valley Authority's Board of Directors approved a separate, higher wholesale rate for data centers on August 20, 2026, effective October 1. New or expanding data center loads above 5 megawatts now fall under a Capacity Commitment Charge attached to TVA's data center rate schedules, designed to recover the incremental capacity costs those customers impose on the system. The headline figures are substantial: upfront capacity commitment charges of roughly $1.5 million per megawatt, payable over three to five years, and an all-in average billing increase for data center customers of about 10%, phased in across three consecutive fiscal years. The stated purpose is to keep residential rates low while still serving growing data center demand. TVA matters here out of proportion to a single utility. It is a federal corporate agency supplying power across seven states, so this is not a state rate case but a regional cost-allocation decision reaching a large share of the Southeast — and TVA is among the first large US utilities to adopt a tariff aimed specifically at AI-driven load. Where most 2026 measures in this dataset restrict where data centers may be built, this one changes what they pay to run.
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In effect Strength: stronger
Bartz v. Anthropic
N.D. Cal. · Effective September 5, 2025 · Bartz v. Anthropic PBC, No. 3:24-cv-05417 (N.D. Cal.)
Authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson sued Anthropic over its use of pirated-book datasets to train Claude. In June 2025 Judge William Alsup ruled that training on lawfully purchased books was fair use. The piracy claims (LibGen ingestion) proceeded toward settlement; in September 2025 Anthropic agreed to a $1.5 billion class settlement covering ~500,000 works. Judge Alsup granted preliminary approval September 25, 2025 and final approval July 20, 2026. The appeal period runs through August 19, 2026; class members will not receive payments until at least end of 2026.
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In effect Strength: stronger
COPPA + 2025 Rule (childrens data)
United States · Effective June 23, 2025 · 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501–6506; 16 C.F.R. Part 312
COPPA requires online services aimed at children under 13 to get verifiable parental consent before collecting kids' personal data. The 2025 rule update — fully in effect since April 22, 2026 — adds biometric identifiers (like face templates and voiceprints, which matter for AI tools), requires separate parental consent before sharing children's data for targeted advertising, and tightens data retention limits.
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In effect Strength: stronger
TAKE IT DOWN Act
United States · Effective May 19, 2025 · Pub. L. No. 119-12 (S. 146)
Makes it a federal crime to knowingly publish intimate images of someone without consent, including AI-generated deepfakes. Social media and similar platforms must give victims a way to request removal and must take the content (and known copies) down within 48 hours. The platform removal requirement became enforceable May 19, 2026, and the FTC has already begun enforcement.
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Blocked / in litigation
NetChoice v. Yost (Ohio)
S.D. Ohio · Effective April 16, 2025 · NetChoice, LLC v. Yost, No. 2:24-cv-00047 (S.D. Ohio Apr. 16, 2025)
Ohio's Social Media Parental Notification Act — requiring parental consent for minors' social-media use, including algorithmic feeds — was preliminarily enjoined on February 12, 2024, then permanently enjoined on April 16, 2025 when the district court granted summary judgment for NetChoice. The state appealed to the Sixth Circuit, which vacated the district court's injunction in 2026.
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In effect Strength: stronger
Thaler v. Perlmutter (Copyright)
D.C. Cir. · Effective March 18, 2025 · Thaler v. Perlmutter, 130 F.4th 1039 (D.C. Cir. 2025)
The companion copyright case: Stephen Thaler sought to register a copyright with 'Creativity Machine' (his AI) as the author. The D.C. Circuit affirmed in March 2025 that the Copyright Act's human-authorship requirement is dispositive as a matter of statutory law. AI cannot be a copyright author under U.S. law.
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In effect Strength: stronger
Louis v. SafeRent
D. Mass. · Effective November 20, 2024 · Louis v. SafeRent Solutions, LLC, No. 1:22-cv-10800 (D. Mass.)
SafeRent agreed in November 2024 to a $2.275M settlement and a five-year ban on using its 'SafeRent Score' for housing-voucher applicants, after a class action alleged its AI tenant-screening tool systematically denied housing to Black and Hispanic Section 8 voucher holders. The first major AI tenant-screening Fair Housing Act settlement.
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In effect Strength: stronger
FTC Impersonation Rule (AI)
United States · Effective April 1, 2024 · 16 C.F.R. Part 461; 89 Fed. Reg. 15017
The FTC's Impersonation Rule lets the agency directly sue scammers who pretend to be a government agency or a real business — including those who use AI-cloned voices or generated images to do so. Civil penalties can reach $53,088 per violation. The FTC also issued a supplemental notice in February 2024 proposing to extend the rule to all individual impersonation.
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In effect Strength: stronger
FTC v. Rite Aid
FTC · Effective February 26, 2024 · FTC v. Rite Aid Corp., No. 2:23-cv-05023 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 19, 2023)
The FTC banned Rite Aid from using facial-recognition technology in its stores for five years after finding the pharmacy chain's FRT system falsely tagged customers — disproportionately women and people of color — as shoplifters, leading to wrongful detentions and humiliations.
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In effect Strength: stronger
TCPA (AI voice calls)
United States · Effective February 8, 2024 · 47 U.S.C. § 227; FCC 24-17
Robocalls using AI-cloned or AI-generated voices are treated like other 'artificial voice' calls: callers need your prior express consent, must identify themselves, and must offer opt-outs for telemarketing. You can personally sue violators for $500 to $1,500 per illegal call.
Frequently asked questions about AI laws in Madison, Wisconsin
Are there AI laws in Madison, Wisconsin?
What federal AI rules apply in Madison?
Does Wisconsin have an AI privacy law?
Are deepfakes illegal in Wisconsin?
Can my employer use AI to screen me for jobs in Madison?
How do I report an AI law violation in Madison?
Are facial recognition cameras allowed in Madison?
Is Madison regulated by Wisconsin's consumer privacy act?
Have we missed an AI rule in Madison?
This page is generated from our open civic dataset. If you know of a Madison ordinance, county rule, or local enforcement action we should add, email feedback@ailawsusa.com or submit a correction. Every entry must include a verifiable source.