South Carolina Blockchain Inc. releases Freedom Tech 2026 legislative review

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Review of all 170 lawmakers examines the policy record across digital assets, privacy, AI and infrastructure.

*Freedom Tech 2026: Technology, Rights and Accountable Government.*

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Building on the South Carolina Emerging Technology Association’s (SCETA) work advancing digital-asset rights and responsible innovation, South Carolina Blockchain Inc. has released Freedom Tech 2026, an inaugural review of all 170 members of the South Carolina General Assembly. Published in SC Digital Ledger, Vol. I, No. 11, the review examines how lawmakers are shaping technology policy and what those choices mean for individual freedom, economic opportunity and accountable government.

What Is Freedom Tech and Why Does It Matter?

Freedom Tech is the principle that technology should strengthen individual freedom, expand economic opportunity and make institutions more accountable. It connects the ability to own and use digital assets, protect personal information, choose how to make payments and access emerging technologies with the responsibility to address legitimate harms through clear, proportionate safeguards.

As artificial intelligence, digital finance and computing infrastructure reshape the economy, policy decisions will help determine who can participate, who controls information and how power is exercised. South Carolina’s choices can affect household costs, business competitiveness, privacy and the ability of communities to share in economic growth.

The Freedom Tech review makes those choices easier to examine. By evaluating documented legislative conduct across party lines, it helps South Carolinians recognize meaningful leadership and hold elected officials accountable for making technology work for the people they serve.

From Advocacy to Accountability

The review grew out of Dennis Fassuliotis’s work as president of the South Carolina Emerging Technology Association (SCETA), where efforts to advance digital-asset rights revealed a broader question: how are lawmakers shaping the rules for technology across South Carolina?

“SCETA’s work brought us to the table. Freedom Tech asks us to look beyond our own bills,” Fassuliotis said. “I wanted to recognize substantive work wherever I found it and apply the same scrutiny to policies that could restrict individual rights or responsible innovation.”

The approved results, frozen October 24, place House Judiciary Chairman Weston Newton first with 82.9, Sen. Danny Verdin second with 70.3 and Rep. Travis Moore third with 65.4. Sens. Sean Bennett and Tom Davis share fourth place at 61.3. The table below presents the ten published entries.

“We don’t grade party; we grade policy and performance,” said Fassuliotis, president of South Carolina Blockchain Inc.

Freedom Tech 2026 Top Ten

Source: SC Digital Ledger, Vol. I, No. 11; approved review frozen October 24, 2026. Bennett and Davis share fourth place; the next rank is sixth. Scores concern the documented policy record and are not candidate endorsements.

How the Review Works

The methodology assigns up to 30 points for policy advancement; 20 for origination and meaningful sponsorship; 15 each for institutional leadership and voting; and 10 each for constructive improvement and breadth or engagement.

Technology Friction is recorded separately from the 100-point base score to identify supported restrictive effects alongside positive work. Moore’s published score reflects a 66.9 base less a 1.5-point Technology Friction adjustment.

The review distinguishes sponsorship from leadership, avoids counting the same achievement repeatedly and does not infer an individual vote from an aggregate tally. Firsthand evidence is distinguished from independently corroborated records; a missing qualifying record is not treated as proof of opposition.

Its “Good Goal / Wrong Approach” test asks whether a policy addresses a legitimate harm through a proportionate, least-restrictive effective remedy. The assessment concerns policy design and documented performance, rather than sponsors’ motives.

Recognition concerns the documented legislative policy record and is not a candidate endorsement. The October 24 review is a dated snapshot; later corrections and additions will be identified and dated.

Find Your Legislator

Visit https://freedomtechleaders.com to find your legislator. See how they voted and performed in protecting your rights and making technology work for you, not the other way around.

Read SC Digital Ledger: https://digitalledgersc.substack.com

About South Carolina Blockchain Inc.

Founded in 2020, South Carolina Blockchain Inc. is a South Carolina public benefit corporation focused on education and public policy involving blockchain, digital assets and emerging technologies. It publishes SC Digital Ledger to connect technology developments with economic opportunity, individual rights and accountable government.