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AI Laws in Madison, Wisconsin
As of 2026-06-17, AI Laws USA tracks 18 AI rules that apply to people and businesses in Madison, Wisconsin: 10+ federal protections, 7 Wisconsin state-level rules, and 1 local Madison ordinance. Coverage is strongest on government use of AI, consumer protection, police and surveillance AI, and consumer data privacy. 7 of these rules are already in effect. Each entry below links to its official source.
Madison local AI rules (and Dane County)
1 local AI rule specific to Madison, Wisconsin or Dane County.
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In effect Moderate protection
Madison Face Surveillance Ban
Madison, WI · Enacted 2020-12-01 · 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.
Wisconsin-level AI rules
7 Wisconsin state rules apply to residents and businesses in Madison. Sorted strongest first.
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In effect Limited protection
WI PDD Act 13 (2017)
Wisconsin · Effective 2017-07-01 · 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 Limited protection
WI drone-surveillance ban
Wisconsin · Effective 2014-04-10 · 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 Limited protection
WI EO 211
WI · Effective 2023-08-23 · 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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Enacted (not yet in effect) Limited protection
Wisconsin 452.136(1m) (real estate ads must disclose AI-altered property images)
Wisconsin · Effective 2027-01-01 · Wis. Stat. 452.136(1m); 2025 Wis. Act 69
Wisconsin will require licensed real estate professionals to disclose in their advertising whenever an ad has been altered or modified using technology, including AI, to add, remove, or change elements of a property in a way that creates a false or misleading impression. The rule targets AI-edited listing photos that could mislead buyers or renters. It takes effect January 1, 2027.
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In effect Limited protection
WI DOI AI Bulletin
WI · Effective 2025-03-18 · Wisconsin OCI AI Bulletin (2025-03-18) (2025-03-18)
The WI Department of Insurance adopted the NAIC Model Bulletin on Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems by Insurers. Insurers licensed in WI must maintain a written AI program with governance, risk-management, testing, third-party-AI oversight, and documentation controls. The bulletin operationalizes existing unfair-trade-practice and unfair-discrimination law as applied to insurers' AI use cases — underwriting, pricing, claims, fraud detection, and marketing.
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In effect Limited protection
WI AI Election Disclosure Law
Wisconsin · Effective 2024-03-22 · 2023 Wis. Act 123; Wis. Stat. ch. 11
Wisconsin requires political communications paid for by campaigns, PACs, or parties to carry a clear 'Contains content generated by AI' disclosure if they include synthetic media. Violations carry up to $1,000 per offense via the Ethics Commission.
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In effect Limited protection
WI AI CSAM Law
Wisconsin · Effective 2024-03-28 · 2023 Wis. Act 224 (SB 314); Wis. Stat. § 948.12
Wisconsin criminalized AI-generated and virtual child sexual abuse material — even where no real child was involved. Possession, production, or distribution of AI imagery appearing to depict a minor in sexually explicit conduct is a Class D felony carrying up to 25 years.
Federal AI rules that apply in Madison, Wisconsin
These federal protections apply everywhere in the United States, including Madison, Wisconsin. Showing the 10 strongest and most recent.
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In effect Stronger protection
Bartz v. Anthropic
N.D. Cal. · Effective 2025-09-05 · 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 issued a split ruling: training on lawfully purchased books was fair use, but ingesting pirated copies from LibGen was not. In September 2025 Anthropic agreed to a $1.5 billion class settlement — the largest AI copyright recovery to date.
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In effect Stronger protection
Banner v. Tesla (Autopilot)
S.D. Fla. · Effective 2025-08-01 · Banner v. Tesla, Inc., No. 1:21-cv-21940 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 1, 2025)
A Florida federal jury found Tesla 33% liable in August 2025 for the 2019 death of Naibel Benavides Leon, in a crash involving Autopilot. The verdict awarded $243M (later reduced to ~$220M) — the first Autopilot wrongful-death verdict against Tesla.
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In effect Stronger protection
COPPA + 2025 Rule (childrens data)
United States · Effective 2025-06-23 · 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 Stronger protection
TAKE IT DOWN Act
United States · Effective 2025-05-19 · 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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In effect Stronger protection
Thaler v. Perlmutter (Copyright)
D.C. Cir. · Effective 2025-03-18 · 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 constitutional and dispositive. AI cannot be a copyright author under U.S. law.
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In effect Stronger protection
Thomson Reuters v. Ross
D. Del. · Effective 2025-02-11 · Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GmbH v. Ross Intelligence, Inc., 694 F. Supp. 3d 467 (D. Del. 2025)
Thomson Reuters sued legal-research startup Ross Intelligence in 2020 for copying Westlaw headnotes to train a competing AI legal-research tool. In February 2025, Judge Stephanos Bibas (sitting by designation) granted summary judgment to Thomson Reuters on direct copyright infringement and rejected Ross's fair-use defense — the first definitive U.S. ruling on AI-training fair use. The 2023 jury trial verdict had been deadlocked; the 2025 ruling resolved liability.
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In effect Stronger protection
Louis v. SafeRent
D. Mass. · Effective 2024-11-20 · 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 Stronger protection
NetChoice v. Yost (Ohio)
S.D. Ohio · Effective 2024-04-30 · NetChoice, LLC v. Yost, No. 2:24-cv-00047 (S.D. Ohio Apr. 30, 2024)
Ohio's Social Media Parental Notification Act — requiring parental consent for minors' social-media use, including algorithmic feeds — was permanently enjoined as unconstitutional in April 2024.
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In effect Stronger protection
FTC Impersonation Rule (AI)
United States · Effective 2024-04-01 · 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 Stronger protection
TCPA (AI voice calls)
United States · Effective 2024-02-08 · 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?
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Are deepfakes illegal in Wisconsin?
Can my employer use AI to screen me for jobs in Madison?
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Are facial recognition cameras allowed in Madison?
Is Madison regulated by Wisconsin's consumer privacy act?
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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 [email protected] or submit a correction. Every entry must include a verifiable source.