Are deepfakes illegal?
No US law makes a deepfake illegal simply because it was made with AI. The law looks at what the deepfake depicts, whether the person consented, how it is used and what harm follows. A face-swapped film parody, an actor's licensed digital double and a labelled AI political ad can all be lawful. A sexual image of a real person shared without consent, a fake candidate video released days before an election in a state that bans it, or a cloned voice used to talk a bank clerk into a transfer can be crimes.
The most important line is sexual content. The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act and the laws of 48 states, counted by Ballotpedia as of October 22, 2026, now treat non-consensual sexual deepfakes as unlawful, and most of those laws are criminal.
When is making deepfakes illegal?
Is it illegal to make deepfakes of real people?
Making a deepfake of a real person is not a crime in most situations. It becomes unlawful when the content and purpose fall within a specific statute: sexual imagery without consent, material depicting a minor, fraud, harassment, election deception in states that regulate it, or commercial use of a person's identity without permission. Some state laws reach creation as well as distribution. Texas, for example, covers anyone who knowingly produces or distributes a sexual deepfake video without the person's consent, according to the Texas Senate analysis of SB 1361.
Is a deepfake a crime if it is shared?
Sharing is where most liability attaches. The TAKE IT DOWN Act criminalises knowingly publishing non-consensual intimate images, real or AI-generated, rather than private creation. Images that depict an identifiable minor in sexually explicit conduct are a separate matter: federal child sexual abuse material law covers images created or modified to appear to show an identifiable minor, under the definitions in 18 U.S.C. § 2256, whether or not they are shared.
Federal law and the TAKE IT DOWN Act
The TAKE IT DOWN Act was signed on May 19, 2025. The Congressional Research Service summarises its criminal provisions: knowingly publishing a non-consensual intimate image of an identifiable adult, including a digital forgery, carries up to two years in prison, and publishing one of a minor carries up to three years. Threatening to publish such images is also an offence.
Platform removal duty
Since May 19, 2026, covered platforms must give people a way to request removal of non-consensual intimate images and must remove the image and known identical copies within 48 hours of a valid request. The FTC enforces this duty and accepts complaints about platforms that fail to act at TakeItDown.ftc.gov. The FTC has published guidance for businesses on compliance. Platforms do not have a general duty to find and remove every deepfake; the obligation is triggered by a valid request.
State deepfake crime laws
State law fills most of the gaps. The table shows representative states as of November 9, 2026; it is not a full list.
| State | Law | Covers | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | SB 1361 (2023), Penal Code § 21.165 | Producing or distributing sexual deepfake videos without consent | Criminal | In force |
| California | SB 926 (2024) | Distributing realistic AI-generated intimate images | Criminal | In force |
| California | AB 2839 and AB 2655 (2024) | Election deepfakes and platform duties | Civil | Struck down in Kohls v. Bonta, August 2025 |
| Minnesota | Minn. Stat. § 609.771 | Election deepfakes intended to injure a candidate or influence an election | Criminal | In force; X Corp. challenge narrowed December 2025 |
| Hawaii | SB 2687 (Act 191, 2024) | Deceptive election media | Ban near elections | Permanently blocked January 30, 2026 |
| Tennessee | ELVIS Act (2024) | Unauthorised use of a person's voice or likeness, including AI clones | Civil and criminal | In force since July 1, 2024 |
Intimate image deepfakes
Ballotpedia's August 2026 report found every state except Ohio and New Mexico had a law on sexual deepfakes. California's SB 926, described in Morrison Foerster's 2024 review, is typical of the newer laws: it extends existing image-based abuse crimes to realistic AI-generated images.
Election deepfakes
Ballotpedia counted 33 states with election deepfake laws as of October 22, 2026. Most require a disclosure on AI-altered media about candidates close to an election rather than banning it. Courts have struck or blocked the broadest ones: California's AB 2839 in August 2025 and Hawaii's in January 2026. Minnesota's criminal statute remains in force after a December 2025 ruling that X Corp. lacked standing to challenge it before enforcement.
Fraud and impersonation
Using a deepfake to obtain money or property is fraud under existing federal and state law. The FCC's February 2024 ruling, summarised by Cooley, brought AI-generated voices in robocalls under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and Tennessee's ELVIS Act makes unauthorised commercial use of a person's voice or likeness a Class A misdemeanour as well as a civil wrong.
When is a deepfake legal?
Parody, satire and consent
Consent is the clearest defence: a person who agrees to be depicted, as in a licensed digital replica, has no claim under most of these laws. Parody and satire receive strong First Amendment protection. In striking down California's AB 2839, the court in Kohls v. Bonta treated the law as a content-based restriction on protected political speech, as Bloomberg Law reported. Most state election laws exempt clearly labelled content, and the pending NO FAKES Act would exclude news, commentary, parody and satire. Sexual deepfakes of real people are different: the TAKE IT DOWN Act's intimate image offences contain no parody or satire exception.
What to do if you are targeted
If someone has made or shared a sexual or abusive deepfake of you, the law gives you several routes, and none requires you to confront the person who made it.
- Keep a record. Note the web addresses, account names and dates where the image appears before it is removed.
- Ask the platform to remove it. Covered platforms must provide a removal process and act within 48 hours of a valid request under the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
- Report a platform that does not act. The FTC takes complaints at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.
- Use hash-matching services. If the image shows someone under 18, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children runs Take It Down; adults can use StopNCII.org. Both work without sending the image itself.
- Report crimes. Local police can act under state law, and threats or extortion can be reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
- Consider a civil claim. State law may allow you to sue for damages; a lawyer can advise on the options where you live.
Our rights hub collects further resources.
Making a deepfake is not a crime by itself, but sharing a sexual deepfake of a real person without consent is a federal crime under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, with up to 2 years for adult victims and 3 for minors. If you are targeted, covered platforms must remove reported images within 48 hours. Election, fraud and likeness deepfakes fall mostly under state law, and 33 states regulate election deepfakes.
What changed
- 2026-10-22: Ballotpedia tracker: 48 states with sexual deepfake laws and 33 with election deepfake laws.
- 2026-05-19: TAKE IT DOWN Act 48-hour platform removal duty took effect; FTC began enforcement.
- 2026-01-30: Hawaii's election deepfake law permanently blocked.
- 2026-01-13: Senate passed the DEFIANCE Act, which would give victims of sexual deepfakes a federal right to sue.
- 2025-05-19: TAKE IT DOWN Act signed; federal crime of publishing non-consensual intimate images, including AI forgeries, took effect.
Frequently asked questions
Is it illegal to make a deepfake of someone?
Making a deepfake is not illegal in itself. It becomes unlawful when it is sexual and non-consensual, depicts a minor sexually, is used to defraud or harass, deceives voters in a state that regulates election deepfakes, or uses someone's likeness commercially without permission. Some states, such as Texas, also cover producing sexual deepfakes.
Is a deepfake a crime if you never share it?
Usually not under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which targets publication. But creating sexual images that appear to show an identifiable minor is a federal crime whether or not they are shared, and some state laws cover production as well as distribution.
Can you go to jail for a deepfake?
Yes. Publishing a non-consensual sexual deepfake of an adult carries up to two years in federal prison under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, and up to three years where the person is a minor. State laws add their own penalties, and deepfake fraud is prosecuted as fraud.
Do platforms have to remove deepfakes?
For intimate images, yes. Since May 19, 2026, covered platforms must remove non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated ones, and known copies within 48 hours of a valid request, and the FTC enforces that duty. There is no general federal duty to remove other kinds of deepfakes.
Sources
- Congress.gov: S. 146, TAKE IT DOWN Act
- Congressional Research Service: The TAKE IT DOWN Act
- FTC: FTC begins enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act
- Ballotpedia: Deepfake policy in the United States
- Texas Legislature: SB 1361 bill analysis
- 18 U.S.C. 2256 (Cornell LII)
- Bloomberg Law: California deepfake law struck
- Justia: X Corp. v. Ellison order (D. Minn.)
- Covington: Tennessee ELVIS Act
- Cooley: FCC ruling on AI-generated robocalls
- NCMEC: Take It Down
This page is journalism and commentary, not legal advice. AI law changes quickly; check the primary sources above and consult qualified counsel for your situation.