Busy Year in Big Tech Regulation May Have Been a Warm Up for 2026

They each had different views from their predecessors on cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, data protection and trade, and they reshaped what had been a relatively quiescent, conventional few years on the TechReg front into a whirlwind of policy changes, abrupt course corrections and shifting priorities.

It was also a year marked by conflict. States were pitted against the federal government on AI; Congress was pitted against the administration on crypto; and the U.S. was pitted against Europe over trade and technology regulations.

Many of these policy changes and conflicts are poised to spill into the new year. Add in the midterm elections in the U.S., and 2026 promises to be a busy and consequential year in TechReg.

Here are some key regulatory developments to watch.

Crypto Market Structure Legislation

The House passed the Clarity Act in July, giving shape and regulatory structure to the crypto market, but a companion measure has bogged down in the Senate amid partisan differences.

Republican committee chairs hope to bring it to a vote that would move it to the full Senate early in the new year. But differences with the House bill would still need to be ironed out.

Federal AI Legislation

This year was marked by conflict between state and federal policymakers over who should regulate AI and how, and whether federal rules should preempt the growing patchwork of state laws.

President Donald Trump’s December executive order seeks to use federal muscle to wipe the state slate clean while states vow not to back down.

In 2026, all eyes will turn to Congress as pressure mounts for comprehensive federal AI rules to settle the dispute.

Algorithmic Pricing Legislation

The use of machine learning-driven algorithms by merchants and landlords to set prices for individual consumers based on their behavior profiles, or to coordinate prices among competitors, exploded in 2025, raising questions of privacy, fairness and price-fixing.

A December study by Consumer Reports found that 74% of the items in a standard basket of goods ordered through Instacart were offered at different prices to different consumers within the same store, leading to an overall average price difference of 7% for the basket. The difference added up to a cost difference of $1,200 per year.

States, led by New York, moved quickly to limit or ban the practice, but its status under federal law is unclear, setting up another area of potential conflict between states and the federal government.

To date, Congress hasn’t acted, but pressure is mounting.

EU Digital Omnibus Package

After leading the world in regulating digital platforms and services, the EU abruptly reversed course in 2025 amid fears that its heavy rulebook was weighing it down economically and competitively.

The European Commission announced an omnibus bill in November to “simplify” the EU’s tangle of digital regulations in a bid to attract more investment and digital talent, especially for AI. But like any regulation, the old rules created winners and losers, and the winners may object to the changes.

The proposed bill now goes to the European Parliament, where its fate is uncertain, and then must be approved by the Council of Europe.

Trade and Tech

Even as the EU looks to roll back some of its digital rules, its ongoing enforcement of the existing rules against U.S. companies continues to spark conflict with the Trump administration.

In December, the U.S. again threatened the EU with new fees, restrictions and market barriers over the rules and enforcement actions it sees as disproportionately targeting U.S. tech companies.

Even the U.K., which is not part of the EU, has faced Trump’s wrath. The administration announced in December that it would pause implementation of the U.S.-U.K. trade deal over Britain’s lack of progress in rolling back digital rules.

The U.S. pressure has fueled Europe’s push to develop its own AI technology stack as an alternative to U.S. dominance, which could eventually begin to tell on the high-flying valuations of U.S. AI companies.

Dark Horse Candidate: Prediction Markets

Online prediction markets have exploded in popularity, exceeding $28 billion in global trading volume in 2025.

But some U.S. states regard the markets, many of which allow wagers on the outcome of sports events, as illegal sports gambling operations and have sought to shut them down.

The markets claim to operate as real-money futures markets falling under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, once again raising the question of federal preemption of state tech regulations.

Watch for federal courts, and perhaps Congress, to eventually have to get involved to resolve the conflict.