Deepfake Laws by State: What Is Actually on the Books (14 States)

Short answer: At least 14 states have deepfake laws in their codes. They fall into four groups: election deepfakes, sexual images made without consent, voice and likeness rights, and fraud. The groups carry very different penalties. This guide reads 14 named states from the statute text as of October 5, 2026. It does not cover all 50, and a missing state may still have a law. The list changes fast, so check the date on every row. This is general information, not legal advice.

TL;DR

• A deepfake is a video, image or recording made or changed by software so that it falsely shows a real person doing or saying something. A statute is a law passed by a legislature.
• The 14 states read here are California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington.
• Election laws often set a window before voting, and some offer a safe harbor (a way to avoid liability) if the ad carries a label. Sexual-image laws carry the harshest penalties, often felonies.
• One California election law has been blocked in court, so a statute can be on the books and still not be enforced.
• If I could not read a statute's text or its effective date from an official source, it is not in the table.

What counts as a deepfake law

I ran searches across every state's statutes for deepfake, synthetic media and digital replica wording, then read each candidate in the state's own code. I kept a law only when its text deals with software-made or software-altered media. A general fraud law that never mentions the technology stayed out.

The table sorts laws into four kinds:

• Election deepfakes are fake media about candidates, usually limited to a window before an election.
• Intimate images are sexual pictures or videos made or altered without the person's consent.
• Voice and likeness laws protect a person's voice or face from copying. A digital replica is a computer-made copy of someone's voice or appearance. A right of publicity is a person's right to control commercial use of their name and image.
• Fraud laws punish using a fake to cheat or impersonate.

Four terms recur in the table. A misdemeanor is a lesser crime, and a felony is a more serious one. Labels such as "Class A," "gross" or "third-degree" rank how serious a crime is inside one state. An injunction is a court order to stop doing something. Statutory damages are an amount the law sets, so the victim need not prove a loss.

Deepfake laws by state: what I verified

I read each statute on the state's official legislature site on October 5, 2026, with Vaquill AI's API as the first read. Some official sites would not load directly. For Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Utah, I read the official pages through saved copies. For Tennessee, I read the enacted public chapters, whose text matched the code. The effective date is the day the law took effect. I took it from the history line (the note under a section that names each act that changed it) or from the session law (the act as the legislature passed it).

One definition, read closely

The key word in each law is its definition of a deepfake, and the definitions differ. Texas Election Code § 255.004(e), on the Texas Legislature's site, reads:

In this section, "deep fake video" means a video, created with the intent to deceive, that appears to depict a real person performing an action that did not occur in reality.

Three things follow from that sentence. It covers video only, so a fake audio clip falls outside this section. It requires an intent to deceive, so the person who made the video must have meant to mislead. And it covers a real person, so a made-up face does not count. Under subsection (d), the offense also needs an intent to injure a candidate or sway the result, and publication within 30 days of the election.

Louisiana's definition in R.S. 14:73.13 is wider. It covers audio or visual media "created, altered, or digitally manipulated" so that it "would falsely appear to a reasonable observer to be an authentic record." It leaves out satire, parody and news. It also leaves out media that carries a clear disclosure visible throughout. Always read the definition before you decide a law reaches your content.

California: a statute on the books, a court order in the way

California's election deepfake laws show that a law can sit in the code and still go unenforced. Elections Code § 20012 allows civil suits over knowingly spreading "materially deceptive content" about candidates within 30 days of an election. Its first version was AB 2839. A federal court blocked it in Kohls v. Bonta. On August 29, 2025, the court found that AB 2839 "fails strict scrutiny in its entirety." Strict scrutiny is the toughest test a court applies to a law that limits speech. The court barred enforcement against the people who sued. A second law, AB 2655, put duties on large online platforms. The court held that federal law overrides it as to two companies. The state appealed. Lawmakers then rewrote § 20012 in AB 502, effective September 19, 2026. I found no ruling on the new text. Read the court's order. The deepfake version of Elections Code § 20010 repeals itself on January 1, 2027, by its own words.

What the laws have in common, and where they differ

Timing. Most election laws set a window before voting. Texas uses 30 days, Colorado 60 or 90, and Michigan and New Hampshire 90. Minnesota ties its window to party conventions and the start of absentee voting. Tennessee uses a 120-day window for candidates who are not incumbents. Florida, New York, Utah and Washington set no window in the text I read.

Disclosure. Colorado, Michigan, New Hampshire and Washington let a clear label save an ad. Texas has no such exception in its text.

Penalties. Election laws mostly use misdemeanors or civil suits. Sexual-image laws climb to felonies. Louisiana's reach decades in prison.

Who can sue. Candidates can sue in Colorado, New York and Washington. Victims of sexual deepfakes can sue in many of the 14 states, with set damages in Colorado, Tennessee and California.

What I left out and why

I left out any statute whose text or effective date I could not read from an official source. AI-made child sexual abuse material is covered by separate sections in at least Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, Tennessee, Utah and California. They sit in different parts of each code, and I did not table them. I also left out general fraud laws that never mention the technology, and platform-duty laws such as California's Business and Professions Code § 22670.

How to check a state that is not here

1. Open the state legislature's official site and search for "deepfake," "synthetic media," "digital replica" and "altered image."
2. Read the section and its definitions. Skip the summaries.
3. Find the effective date in the history line under the section.
4. Search the current year's bills, since a law signed this spring may not be in the code yet. Our guide on how to know when a state law has changed shows how.

Common mistakes

• Counting states. A number goes stale within weeks. Check the state where the person lives.
• Assuming all deepfake laws are alike. An election disclosure rule and a sexual-image felony have little in common.
• Ignoring court rulings. A statute can stay in the code after a court blocks it.
• Trusting a tracker. Use it to find the section, then read the section.

This guide is part of US Law Data: The Complete Guide. For the method, see how to run a 50-state survey and our post on legal data freshness.

FAQ

Which states have deepfake laws?

Many do. The table lists 14 I could read from the statutes. A state not listed may have a law I did not read. Search that state's official code.

Are deepfakes illegal?

It depends on the kind. Sexual deepfakes without consent are crimes in several of these states. Election deepfakes are illegal in a window before voting in some and need a label in others. Parody and news uses are often exempt.

What is the penalty for a sexual deepfake?

It ranges from a misdemeanor in Texas and New York to felonies in Florida, Illinois and Tennessee. Louisiana's range is the highest I read. Several states add a civil suit.

Do election deepfake laws apply year-round?

Often not. Texas, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire set windows before an election.

Can I sue over a deepfake of me?

In many of these states, yes. Colorado, Tennessee and California set damages for sexual deepfakes. Washington, Illinois and New York have suits over voice and likeness. Ask a lawyer about your facts.

How do I know if a deepfake law is still in force?

Read the history line under the section, check for newer acts, and search for court rulings. California shows why.

How often do these laws change?

Often. Many rows above took effect in 2025 or 2026, and more bills are likely.

For readers who want the statute text behind a chart like this one, see the legal API.

Priyansh Khodiyar

Co-Founder & CTO

Priyansh leads engineering and AI at Vaquill AI: the pipelines that pull statutes, regulations and court rules from every US jurisdiction's official publisher, and the REST API, MCP server and open dataset that serve them.