What a Mayor Mamdani Could Mean for Tech Policy in NYC
The mayoral candidate has supported legislation regulating AI and providing internet access for the temporarily housed.
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2025 – Where does Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic party’s candidate to be New York City’s next mayor, stand on technology-related issues?
Mamdani has not talked much about broadband access on the campaign trail, but his legislative history offers some clues on where he stands. In 2021, while serving in the New York State Assembly, Mamdani co-sponsored legislation requiring the state to fund internet access for all individuals residing in temporary housing. He co-sponsored similar legislation in both the 2023 and 2025 legislative sessions.
Notably, Mamdani has not taken a public stance on reviving the New York City Internet Master Plan, a municipal broadband blueprint launched in 2020 under Mayor Bill de Blasio and canceled in 2022 by Mayor Eric Adams. The plan sought to use city-owned infrastructure to expand affordable high-speed internet across all five boroughs.
State Broadband
The 33-year-old’s views regarding the regulation of AI remain unclear. He was not one of the over 50 New York state lawmakers to sign onto a letter urging the House Republican leadership to strip the proposed 10-year AI moratorium out of the reconciliation package.
However, Mamdani has expressed support for New York Attorney General Letitia James’s proposed FAIR Business Practices Act, which cracks down on AI-based schemes, online phishing scams, hand-to-cancel subscriptions, junk fees, and data breaches, among other practices.
Broadband-related work on strengthening consumer protection
Much of Mamdani’s broadband related work has revolved around strengthening consumer protections. Mamdani’s campaign website states that he supports a provision in New York’s 2025 budget that would make cancelling subscription services, such as cable or Spotify, easier.
The mayoral candidate co-sponsored legislation in 2023 that would have required in-state businesses that provide online accounts for consumers to permit those consumers to recover those accounts if they were the victims of identity theft and could show state-issued identification.
Mamdani co-sponsored similar legislation in 2025 that would have required businesses that provide consumers with online accounts for accessing their cellphones to allow those consumers to use state issued IDs to access those accounts.
Mamdani also sponsored legislation in 2021, 2023, and 2025 that would have prohibited the police and other governmental entities from creating fake electronic communication service accounts or from collecting or using an individual’s account information. In the event of a violation, his proposed legislation would have established a private right of action.
The Ugandan-born Mamdani has also expressed an interest in helping the disabled access the internet. He co-sponsored legislation in 2021 that would have required state contractors and vendors to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a set of international standards designed to ensure online content is usable by individuals with visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor disabilities.
When asked about his plans for expanding broadband internet access in New York, Mamdani’s office did not respond in time for publication.
