Virginia’s AG race: Where the nominees stand on tech and business

One of Virginia’s attorney general nominees says he’ll balance innovation with consumer protection if elected, including setting up a child safety initiative to target companies exposing minors to harmful content and addictive features. 

Voters are casting ballots (early voting ends Saturday) in some of the country’s most closely watched elections of 2025, including for VA governor and lieutenant governor. Tech has been at the epicenter, including in the latter race where the Republican candidate used AI to “debate” a clone of his opponent after the other nominee declined to participate. 

In the attorney general election, incumbent Jason Miyares, a Republican, is running against former delegate and Democratic nominee Jay Jones. A Washington Post poll shows an even race, while others show Miyares to be up a few points. 

That polling could be largely affected by the leak of Jones’ text messages from 2022, in which he suggested violence against the former Virginia House of Delegates speaker, several outlets reported. 

The Office of the Attorney General often intersects with technology and business, including in enforcing consumer protection laws and data privacy. To get the nominees’ perspectives, we emailed four questions to Miyares and Jones and asked how they would approach boosting innovation and holding companies accountable, if elected. 

Jones, an attorney who focuses on consumer protection and voting rights, responded. Miyares did not. 

Read Jones’ answers below to get a feel for his plans for the office. 

How do you view the attorney general’s role in shaping the state’s approach to technologies like artificial intelligence?

I believe we can embrace technological innovation to attract business and economic growth and opportunity in Virginia, while putting in place and enforcing clear guardrails to protect consumers and children from harm. 

As attorney general, I’ll be proactive in helping Virginia’s economy keep pace with AI and emerging technologies, while setting and enforcing standards that prevent exploitation, misuse of personal data and unsafe products.

Would you support or pursue any new regulations or enforcement priorities around AI, data collection or tech companies?

I firmly believe that to grow our economy and spur economic growth, we must embrace technological advancements and prepare our workforce to step into jobs of the future. We must also ensure there are strong guardrails in place to protect Virginians from bad actors and predatory practices that violate privacy, safety, or consumer protection laws. 

Accordingly, I will create a Child Safety Unit within the Office of the Attorney General to target companies that misuse minors’ data, expose them to harmful content or deploy manipulative, addictive design features. 

I’ll also rigorously enforce state and federal laws like the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), while advocating for new measures — such as an age-appropriate design code and social media warning labels — that require platforms to prioritize children’s safety over profit.

What’s your philosophy on balancing innovation with consumer and public protection?

Virginia should be a place where innovation thrives and we welcome new economic opportunities and business sectors. Driving innovation and protecting consumers are not mutually exclusive goals, and I believe that with the right balance, we can support thriving industries and safe communities. 

That said, when powerful unscrupulous corporations put profits ahead of kids’ mental health, privacy or safety, the attorney general must step in.

Data breaches and cybersecurity incidents increasingly affect both residents and small businesses. What steps would you take as attorney general to strengthen data protection and hold companies accountable for breaches?

Data security is a core consumer protection issue. As attorney general, I’ll rigorously enforce state privacy laws and hold companies accountable when they fail to safeguard Virginians’ personal information. 

That means pursuing legal action when corporations are negligent with sensitive data, coordinating with federal and state law enforcement to combat online threats and partnering with state agencies, schools, and community organizations to improve cybersecurity awareness. 

In office, I’ll work every day to ensure every Virginian’s data is protected from misuse, exploitation and exposure.