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

Georgia criminalizes nonconsensual sexual deepfakes through OCGA § 16-11-90, which was amended in 2020 to explicitly cover "falsely created" videographic and still images. No election deepfake law and no AI voice-cloning statute have been enacted in Georgia, though multiple bills failed in the 2025-2026 legislative sessions. The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (P.L. 119-12, 2025) layers on top of state law to address intimate deepfakes nationwide.

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

Yes, for sexual content. Georgia covers deepfakes in three contexts: nonconsensual intimate imagery involving adults, AI-generated child sexual abuse material involving minors, and (at the federal level) intimate deepfakes under the TAKE IT DOWN Act. What Georgia does not yet have is an election deepfake statute or a voice-cloning law, placing it in the majority of states that have addressed intimate imagery but left political and voice contexts unregulated at the state level.

A non-sexual, non-commercial deepfake of a private person (for example, a realistic video placing someone at a location they never visited) falls outside Georgia's criminal statutes. Common law torts such as defamation or false light invasion of privacy may apply depending on the circumstances, but there is no standalone criminal prohibition covering that scenario.

For content involving minors, Georgia's CSAM statute and federal law both apply. The 2024 amendment to OCGA § 16-12-100 closed a loophole that had allowed defendants to argue that AI-synthesized material was not covered because no real child was depicted.

Sexual and Intimate Deepfakes

OCGA § 16-11-90 is Georgia's core NCII statute. It prohibits electronically transmitting or posting a photograph or video depicting nudity or sexually explicit conduct of an adult without that person's consent, where the transmission constitutes harassment, causes financial loss, or serves no legitimate purpose to the depicted person. The 2020 amendment (effective August 3, 2020) inserted "including a falsely created videographic or still image" into the definition of prohibited content. That language squarely covers AI-generated deepfakes: a synthetic intimate image of an identifiable Georgia resident falls within the statute's reach.

The penalty structure depends on the method of distribution and whether it is a repeat offense. A first offense under subsection (b)(1)(B) or (b)(2)(B) is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. A second or subsequent violation elevates the charge to a felony under subsection (c). Georgia has not enacted a statutory civil cause of action for NCII deepfake victims; civil options are limited to common law claims such as invasion of privacy or intentional infliction of emotional distress.

For minors, HB 993 (2024 session, effective July 1, 2024) amended OCGA § 16-12-100, Georgia's sexual exploitation of children statute. The amendment provides that it is not a defense to prosecution that the sexually exploitive visual medium was created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable minor was engaging in sexually explicit conduct. This eliminates the argument that AI-generated or deepfaked child sexual abuse material falls outside the statute because no real child was involved.

Election and Political Deepfakes

Georgia does not have an enacted election deepfake law as of June 2026. SB 9, introduced in the 2025 legislative session and authored by Sen. John Albers, would have criminalized the knowing publication of AI-generated campaign materials without a required disclaimer within 90 days of a primary or general election. The Georgia House passed it 152-12 in March 2025, a strong bipartisan margin. However, the Senate disagreed with the House's amendments and the chambers could not resolve the differences through a conference; the bill died on April 2, 2026 when the 2026 regular session adjourned without a conference agreement.

A similar bill (HB 986) was tabled by the Georgia Senate in March 2024, making this the second consecutive session in which an election deepfake measure passed the House but could not clear the Senate. The 2026 regular session (which adjourned April 2, 2026) also did not produce a replacement.

A First Amendment caveat frames these repeated failures. The ACLU of Georgia opposed SB 9, arguing that criminalizing AI-generated political content raises serious free-speech concerns even when disclosure requirements are the goal. A federal court enjoined portions of California's similar election deepfake law in August 2025 on those grounds. Georgia legislators may face the same constitutional headwinds if a bill advances in a future session.

For details on how Georgia regulates AI more broadly, including government procurement and algorithmic decision-making, see Georgia AI Laws.

AI Voice Cloning and Digital Likeness

Georgia has not enacted an AI voice-cloning law. Georgia's right of publicity is a common law doctrine rather than a statute; the Georgia Supreme Court recognized it in Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Social Change v. American Heritage Products (1982). It covers commercial use of a person's name and likeness without consent, but courts have not explicitly treated voice as a protected attribute, and no Georgia court has extended the "likeness" concept to voice in the AI context.

By comparison, Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-25-1101 et seq., effective July 1, 2024) is the national reference point: it expressly extended right-of-publicity protection to voice, including AI simulations, making Tennessee the first state to close this gap. Georgia has not followed that model.

HB 566 (2025), Georgia's "NO FAKES Act," would have protected the voice and visual likeness of individuals against unauthorized AI-generated digital replicas, providing a registry of designated agents and civil remedies. The bill failed to advance past Georgia's crossover deadline (March 6, 2025) and did not become law. No action was taken before the two-year legislative term ended in April 2026, so a new bill would need to be introduced in a future session.

At the federal level, the proposed NO FAKES Act (S.1367 / H.R.2794, 119th Congress) would create a federal right of publicity for voice and likeness against unauthorized AI digital replicas. As of June 2026, it has not passed either chamber and is not current law.

For Georgia residents whose voice or likeness is being used commercially without consent, a civil claim under the existing common law right of publicity is the best available avenue, though the absence of explicit voice protection makes success uncertain. Using an AI-cloned voice in a robocall without consent is separately prohibited under the federal FCC ruling described below.

If your work intersects with AI in meetings or call recording, Georgia Recording Laws covers Georgia's one-party consent framework.

Federal Law That Applies in Georgia

The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12, signed May 19, 2025) is the first federal law directly targeting intimate deepfakes. It creates a federal crime for knowingly publishing nonconsensual intimate visual depictions, expressly including AI-generated "digital forgeries" covering adults or minors. Penalties run up to two years in prison, or three years when minors are involved. Separately, the Act requires online platforms to remove flagged content within 48 hours of receiving a victim's notice; the FTC enforces platform compliance, with the full removal obligation effective May 19, 2026.

Because Georgia's OCGA § 16-11-90 covers the same general conduct, both state criminal charges and a federal TAKE IT DOWN removal request can run in parallel for the same deepfake image. Victims in Georgia are not limited to choosing one path.

The DEFIANCE Act (S.1837 / H.R.3562, 119th Congress) would create a federal civil cause of action for sexual deepfake victims with liquidated damages up to $150,000 ($250,000 if the conduct involved actual or attempted sexual assault, stalking, or harassment). The 118th Congress version passed the Senate in July 2024 but died in the House; it was reintroduced in 2025 and passed the Senate again in January 2026, but it remains pending in the House. It is not current law.

The FCC ruled in February 2024 (FCC 24-17) that AI-generated voices in robocalls qualify as "artificial" voices under the TCPA, 47 U.S.C. § 227. AI voice-clone robocalls to phones without prior express consent are illegal nationwide, including in Georgia.

Federal CSAM law also applies independently of state statutes. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2256(8)(B) (PROTECT Act, 2003), computer-generated images that are indistinguishable from real minors are covered regardless of whether any real child was involved. No First Amendment defense applies to such material.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. § 230) does not immunize platforms from federal criminal law or from the TAKE IT DOWN Act's removal obligations. State criminal laws targeting creators are not Section 230-barred.

What Victims Can Do

For sexual deepfake victims in Georgia, the first step is a criminal complaint to local law enforcement or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). OCGA § 16-11-90 is a state criminal statute; prosecutors can pursue it independently. Georgia does not provide a statutory civil cause of action under § 16-11-90, so civil remedies require pursuing common law claims like invasion of privacy or intentional infliction of emotional distress, which require proving actual damages.

Platform removal runs as a parallel track. Under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a victim can submit a removal notice to any covered platform and the platform must act within 48 hours. The FTC enforces this requirement. Most major platforms also have independent NCII reporting processes, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) operates the Take It Down program specifically for minors' images.

For AI robocall voice-cloning violations, file a complaint with the FCC at fcc.gov. For political advertisement deepfakes, Georgia does not have a state election deepfake law, so state-level enforcement is not available; the FEC governs federal candidates under separate authority.

Penalties at a Glance

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Georgia deepfake and AI laws, not legal advice. This area of law is changing rapidly; the content here reflects statutes and bills as of June 2026 but may not capture recent amendments, newly enacted legislation, or court decisions. If you have been harmed by a deepfake or face related charges, consult a licensed Georgia attorney.

More Georgia Laws

• Georgia AI Meeting Recording Laws
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• Georgia Car Accident Laws
• Georgia Car Seat Laws
• Georgia Child Custody Laws
• Georgia Child Support Laws
• Georgia Common Law Marriage Laws
• Georgia Data Privacy Laws
• Georgia Divorce Laws
• Georgia Dog Bite Laws
• Georgia Emancipation Laws
• Georgia Expungement Laws
• Georgia Hit and Run Laws
• Georgia Landlord-Tenant Laws
• Georgia Lemon Laws

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

Sources

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