Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issued an advisory memo this past week reminding residents, businesses and state officials that the state’s existing civil rights, privacy and consumer protection laws already cover a wide range of conduct involving artificial intelligence and how violators will be held accountable.
The Feb. 25 memorandum, addressed to all state officials and agencies, lays out how four major areas of Connecticut law; civil rights, data privacy, consumer protection and antitrust, apply to AI systems used in everyday life. The advisory covers scenarios ranging from AI-powered tenant screenings and loan decisions to targeted advertising and insurance claims.
The memo arrives amid an ongoing debate at the state Capitol over whether Connecticut needs comprehensive AI-specific legislation. According to CT Mirror, the state has now failed twice to pass broad AI regulation, with Senate Democrats and Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration clashing over how aggressive the state’s approach should be.
“There’s definitely a debate over how strong our AI laws should be,” Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, told CT Mirror. “But I will tell you that if you talk to average people on the streets, they’re very concerned about AI and how it’s going to impact them.”
The memo clarifies that AI-driven choices are subject to Connecticut’s antidiscrimination laws in the same way that human decisions are. Regardless of whether the decision was made by a human or an algorithm, businesses that use AI tools to make decisions about housing, hiring, healthcare, lending or insurance are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or other protected characteristics.
Tong also addressed concerns about federal rollbacks, noting that while the Trump administration recently rescinded earlier federal AI guidance, underlying federal antidiscrimination statutes including the Fair Housing Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act remain fully in force. Residents who believe they have been denied equal treatment by an AI system can file a complaint with the Office.
According to the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, Connecticut businesses face a major compliance deadline on July 1 when recent amendments to the CTDPA take effect, expanding the law’s reach to cover many more businesses and introducing new requirements around automated decision-making disclosures and data protection assessments.
The CBIA acknowledged the memo’s importance while raising concerns about regulatory burden.
“Connecticut’s existing civil rights, consumer protection, privacy, and antitrust laws provide meaningful protections for both consumers and businesses when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence,” CBIA vice president of public policy Chris Davis said in a press release.
That tension between consumer protection and business flexibility has defined Connecticut’s AI debate for several years. According to CT Mirror, Lamont has repeatedly pushed back on comprehensive AI legislation, with his office warning that heavy regulation risks sending a message that Connecticut is unwelcoming to technology sector investment.