Nearly half of the nation’s states have either passed or signed legislation that regulates tech companies or protects consumer personal data, research shows — but New Mexico is not one of them.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico urged lawmakers this week to bring the state into that fold.
“All of us risk being tracked and surveilled without any notice every time we go on an app, are on social media platforms or conduct an online search,” Tatiana Prieto, ACLU of New Mexico policy advocate, told lawmakers on the interim Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee on Thursday.
Over 20 states have either passed or signed legislation that regulates tech companies and gives consumers more protections over their personal data, according to a database from the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Westin Research Center.
California and Maryland, for example, specifically use a data minimization model which only allows companies to collect bare minimum data, Prieto said. Washington and Virginia, she added, authorize civil penalties and the ability for a person to sue for violations of certain sensitive health information being collected.
New Mexico specifically lacks consumer protections against the gathering of biometric, location and certain types of health data, added Deanna Warren, ACLU of New Mexico director of public policy.
The presenters said that due to a lack of federal regulation and enforcement, now is the time for New Mexico to pass a comprehensive data privacy law that includes provisions such as strict restrictions on biometric and health data collection; opt-in collection consent; and prohibiting companies and data brokers from obtaining consent in ways that are misleading or manipulative.
In September, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, alongside state Rep. Linda Serrato (D-Santa Fe) and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland, announced they intend to introduce a bill, the Consumer Protection and Fair Pricing Act, during next year’s legislative session. They said the bill would more closely regulate “personalized pricing,” the practice by which companies use artificial intelligence to offer differing prices on goods and services depending on who the customer is.
Though it is unclear if the proposed bill will include the provisions that ACLU of New Mexico would like to see, Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) underscored the importance of proposed legislation not offering false protections.
“What we have been seeing is the tech companies being perfectly happy to support a bill that is weak and kind of illusory,” Chandler said.
Tech companies sent “big gun” lobbyists to the Capitol when an artificial intelligence regulation bill she sponsored came up for discussion during this year’s legislative session, Chandler said. The lobbyists met with committee chairs and were “doing their darndest to block anything that was meaningful,” she said. The bill died in session.
Rep. Tara Lujan (D-Santa Fe) said she also felt the pressure from big tech last session over her support for tech regulation bills. Despite the pressure, she said, lawmakers “need to be stern” and added that she intends to reintroduce a “No Fakes” bill next session that would regulate AI deepfake images.
Sen. Anthony Thornton (R-Cedar Crest) echoed support for AI deepfake regulation, as well as the opt-in provision that the ACLU of New Mexico proposed. However, he said, technological innovation can be hampered by too much regulation and the Legislature should move “very slowly and cautiously when it comes to regulating technology.”
The ACLU of New Mexico said in their presentation the issue is far past “creepy ads following you around on the internet.” They cited as an example the politically motivated killing of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband in 2025. Investigators said the alleged shooter found their address through online data brokers, companies that collect and sell people’s personal information.
Due to examples like the one presented, Chandler emphasized, the state can not wait for the federal government to step up.
“I would love to have a federal regime that actually protects us, but we can’t get anything done on a federal level at this point in time,” Chandler said. “So we all need to come together and do what we need to do to protect our citizens in the state.”
