Montana sets the pace with the Right to Compute Act

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte recently signed America’s first law that protects the right to use computing power, such as blockchain nodes, distributed storage, and AI modeling on private property unimpeded by government overreach. This is great news for innovation, property rights, and economic freedom.

"Montana is standing up for freedom and innovation," said Governor Gianforte. "With this law, we're protecting Montanans' right to build, compute, and innovate on their own property without unnecessary interference."

At its heart, the Right to Compute Act protects everyone from excessive local ordinances and regulations aimed at curbing how anyone, individual or business, uses their personal computers, servers, or other hardware on their own property. There is a clear and bright line: as long as you’re not harming others or abusing the public infrastructure, the government has no business in how you utilize your computing power.

The act specifies that any restrictions on the use of computational resources must be "demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to fulfill a compelling state interest in public health or safety."

“The Right to Compute Act ensures that Montanans’ rights to free expression and property are protected regardless of whether they are exercised with traditional means or modern computational tools,” said Tanner Avery, Policy Director of the Frontier Institute. “This bill will help position Montana as a world-class destination for AI and Data Center investment.”

By limiting governmental restrictions, the act prevents excessive local ordinances that could hinder the use of personal computational resources. Additionally, the act protects against regulations that might target specific computing activities, such as cryptocurrency mining, under the “mask” of environmental or zoning concerns.

As stated by RightToCompute.ai, “A computer, like the slide rule and abacus before it, is a technological extension of the human capacity to think, a fundamental human right.”

It’s a baseline principle that should be obvious, though regulators in states like New York and California have already started to target certain kinds of computing (such as crypto mining) on the grounds of environmental or zoning concerns. Montana is taking the opposite track and opting to guard technological freedom rather than crushing it.

AI, blockchains, and decentralized networks are more than just tech fads, they’re the basis of the incoming technological revolution. By enshrining a right to compute in law, Montana is making sure it won’t be left behind in that future.

Viewed up close, there is a clear opening for Montana’s neighbors in the Mountain States, Idaho and Wyoming among them, to follow Montana’s lead. Including a broader swath of people in the tech economy, with the opportunity to benefit from their own work, is a principle worth protecting. States that advertise support for innovation, property rights, and economic freedom should act on those values.

Picture technology developers being able to build without obtaining permission, when operating a data center in one’s garage isn’t a political act, and where the marketplace, not a bureaucrat, decides which technologies succeed and which ones fail. That’s not science fiction. It’s just smart policy.

The Right to Compute Act in Montana is an example of how states can look toward the future without sacrificing freedom. It protects property rights, encourages innovation, and sends the message that the Treasure State considers the free market, not government gatekeepers, the most potent motivator of progress.