Arkansas Deepfake Laws: AI Images, Voice Cloning & Penalties (2026)

Arkansas outlaws deepfakes in three separate areas. Act 827 (2025) makes it a crime to create or distribute nonconsensual deepfake sexual images and gives victims a civil cause of action. The act is codified at Ark. Code Ann. 5-14-139 (criminal offense) and 16-118-119 (civil action). Act 977 (2025) explicitly covers AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Act 159 (2025) extends the state's Frank Broyles Publicity Rights Protection Act to AI-cloned voices and likenesses used commercially. Arkansas has no election deepfake statute.

Is It Illegal to Make a Deepfake of Someone in Arkansas?

Yes, in most commercially harmful or sexually explicit contexts, making or distributing a deepfake in Arkansas is a crime or exposes you to civil liability. Arkansas addressed all three major deepfake buckets in its 2025 legislative session: sexual and intimate images, AI-generated child exploitation material, and commercial AI voice and likeness cloning. Election-related deepfakes are the one area left uncovered by state law, though federal election law still applies.

Broadly, what Act 827 prohibits is any person creating or distributing deepfake visual material of a sexual nature involving an identifiable real person without that person's consent. "Deepfake visual material" is defined as digitally manipulated images or videos generated using technology to falsely depict a person's appearance, voice, or conduct in a way that appears authentic to an ordinary person. The law reaches both creators and distributors, not just those who share content made by others.

For voices and likenesses used commercially, Act 159 applies separately: unauthorized AI reproduction of someone's voice or likeness for commercial purposes is actionable under the Frank Broyles Publicity Rights Protection Act regardless of whether the content is sexual.

What Arkansas does not yet cover at the state level: deepfakes in political advertising or election communications (two bills failed in 2025), and purely non-commercial, non-sexual synthetic media generally.

Sexual and Intimate Deepfakes

Arkansas Act 827 (HB 1529) is the primary state law governing nonconsensual intimate deepfakes. Signed by Governor Huckabee Sanders on April 17, 2025, and effective August 5, 2025, it created a new criminal offense specifically targeting deepfake visual material of a sexual nature. The law covers both the creation and the distribution of such content, meaning a person who generates the image and a separate person who later shares it can each be charged.

A first offense under Act 827 is a Class A misdemeanor, which in Arkansas carries up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Any repeat offense is elevated to a Class D felony, which carries up to six years in prison. Act 827 also creates a private civil cause of action: victims may sue for actual damages, compensatory damages, and punitive damages, along with attorney's fees and court costs, making Arkansas one of the states that gives harmed individuals both criminal enforcement and a personal right to sue.

For minors, Act 977 (HB 1877) amended the state's child exploitation statutes, including Ark. Code Ann. § 5-27-304 (pandering or possessing material depicting a child), § 5-27-602, and § 5-27-603, to expressly include "a computer generated image that is indistinguishable from the image of a child" in sexually explicit material. A first offense under § 5-27-304 is a Class C felony, carrying 3 to 10 years in prison; repeat offenses and offenses under § 5-27-603 are Class B felonies, carrying 5 to 20 years. The law was signed April 22, 2025, and took effect August 5, 2025. Federal CSAM law under 18 U.S.C. § 2256(8)(B) also covers AI-generated material indistinguishable from a real minor and provides a parallel layer of prosecution.

Before Act 827 passed, Arkansas's older nonconsensual intimate image statute (Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-314, enacted 2015) used language covering "an image, picture, video, or voice or audio recording" that left legal ambiguity about whether purely AI-generated images of someone who was never actually photographed were covered. Act 827 resolved that gap with express deepfake-specific language.

Election and Political Deepfakes

Arkansas has no enacted election deepfake law. Two bills, HB 1041 and HB 1141, were introduced during the 2025 regular session to prohibit deceptive and fraudulent deepfakes in election communications, but both failed to advance.

Election-related deepfakes in Arkansas currently fall under general fraud and impersonation statutes if the conduct meets those thresholds, but there is no state disclosure requirement and no state-specific prohibition tied to political advertising. Lawmakers who want to regulate this area face ongoing First Amendment scrutiny: a California election deepfake law (AB 2839) was enjoined in August 2025 on First Amendment grounds, illustrating the constitutional tension these laws encounter.

At the federal level, general campaign finance rules and impersonation statutes may apply depending on the content, but Congress had not enacted a federal election deepfake law as of mid-2026.

AI Voice Cloning and Digital Likeness

Arkansas Act 159 (HB 1071), signed February 25, 2025, and effective August 5, 2025, amended the Frank Broyles Publicity Rights Protection Act (Ark. Code Ann. § 4-75-1101 et seq.) to explicitly protect individuals whose "photograph, voice, or likeness is reproduced through means of artificial intelligence and used commercially." This makes Arkansas one of the first states to pass an AI-specific amendment to its right of publicity statute.

Before Act 159, the Frank Broyles Act protected name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness in a more traditional sense. The 2025 amendment is notable for three reasons: it defines voice for the first time to expressly include AI simulations, it expressly names artificial intelligence as a covered reproduction method, and it extends the existing safe harbor for service providers that lack actual knowledge of the unauthorized use to cover voice. This distinguishes it from a platform-liability approach and targets those who knowingly deploy AI reproductions without consent.

The national reference point for this type of law is Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-25-1101 et seq., eff. July 1, 2024), which was the first state law to extend right of publicity protections to AI voice simulations. Arkansas Act 159 follows a similar framework but builds on an existing publicity rights statute rather than creating a standalone voice law. For a comparison of how these voice-cloning protections vary by state, see Arkansas AI Laws, which covers the full scope of Arkansas AI regulation including Act 159 alongside three other AI statutes enacted in 2025.

For commercial uses, Act 159 provides a civil remedy, though the Frank Broyles Act's specific damages provisions should be reviewed with a licensed attorney for any particular case.

Federal Law That Applies in Arkansas

Several federal laws apply to deepfakes in Arkansas regardless of state law gaps.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12, signed May 19, 2025) is the first federal law specifically targeting nonconsensual intimate visual depictions of adults and minors, expressly covering AI-generated deepfakes labeled "digital forgeries." It is a federal crime to knowingly publish such material, with penalties of up to two years in prison (three years if the victim is a minor). The law also imposes a 48-hour content removal obligation on platforms once a victim submits a takedown notice, enforced by the FTC. This law overlaps with and supplements Arkansas Act 827.

For AI-generated CSAM, federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 2256(8)(B) (PROTECT Act, 2003) covers computer-generated images indistinguishable from a real minor and has no First Amendment defense for indistinguishable material. This runs parallel to Arkansas Act 977.

The FCC ruled in February 2024 (FCC 24-17) that AI-generated voices in robocalls are "artificial" under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, making AI voice-clone robocalls without prior express consent illegal nationwide. This applies in Arkansas and is relevant to any voice-cloning scheme targeting consumers by phone.

Two additional federal proposals remain pending and are NOT law: the DEFIANCE Act (S.1837, 119th Congress) would create a federal civil cause of action for sexual deepfake victims, and the NO FAKES Act (S.4591, 119th Congress) would create a federal right of publicity for voice and likeness. The DEFIANCE Act passed the Senate in January 2026 but has not passed the House, and the NO FAKES Act has not passed either chamber; neither is law as of mid-2026. For background on the DEFIANCE Act proposal, see the news coverage of the DEFIANCE Act.

What Victims Can Do

A victim of a deepfake in Arkansas has several concrete options depending on the type of harm.

For sexual deepfakes, the fastest remedy is usually a platform takedown. Under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, platforms must remove flagged nonconsensual intimate images (including deepfakes) within 48 hours of a victim's notice submission. This applies nationwide and does not require a court order or proof of identity.

For criminal enforcement, victims can report to local law enforcement under Arkansas Act 827. The offense is a state crime, so local prosecutors or the Arkansas Attorney General's office may pursue charges. The AG also has authority to bring civil actions against technology providers that lack reasonable safeguards against generating prohibited deepfake content.

For a personal civil lawsuit, Act 827 gives victims a private right of action for actual, compensatory, and punitive damages plus attorney's fees. This is separate from the AG's authority and allows the victim to seek compensation directly. An attorney with experience in digital privacy or cyber harassment cases would be the right starting point.

For commercial AI voice or likeness theft under Act 159, the Frank Broyles Publicity Rights Protection Act's civil remedies are available. A demand letter to the party using the AI reproduction commercially, followed by civil litigation if necessary, is the standard path.

For context on how recording consent laws and privacy rights intersect with digital surveillance, see Arkansas Recording Laws.

Penalty Summary

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Arkansas deepfake and AI laws as of 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws in this area change rapidly. Consult a licensed Arkansas attorney for advice about your specific situation.

For the full 50-state comparison, see Deepfake and AI Voice Cloning Laws by State.

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