7 Landmark Tech Laws Passed in 2013

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By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2013-12-06 12:08:24 UTC

While 2013 will be remembered as the year of the NSA leaks, privacy was already a hot topic for lawmakers around the country before Edward Snowden exposed top-secret surveillance programs.

U.S. states like Montana, Maine and Texas have all passed laws extending constitutional protections for various types of data. Most did it before Snowden's revelations put digital privacy at the forefront of American's public discourse.

See also: 14 Illegal Things You're Doing on the Internet

However, despite progress in certain states and international outrage over the NSA scandal, federal legislators haven't followed suit. In fact, perhaps the biggest news of the year is that Congress has been unable to pass any privacy-protecting legislations.

We collected these legislations and other landmark laws and legal decisions of the year, from revenge porn to in-flight gadget use during takeoffs and landings.

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Image: Mashable composite. iStockphoto, vectorprro

Topics: end of 2013, law, Politics, Tech, tech policy, U.S., US & World