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

Hawaii has one enacted criminal deepfake law: HRS 711-1110.9, amended in 2021, makes creating or distributing nonconsensual deepfake sexual images a class C felony. The state's 2024 election deepfake law was permanently struck down by a federal court in January 2026 on First Amendment grounds. A comprehensive 2026 bill (HB 2137) covering AI-generated content and right-of-publicity protections for voice and likeness was sent to the governor in May 2026 and awaits signature.

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

Yes, in the sexual and intimate context it is a class C felony. For commercial voice or likeness cloning, civil claims exist under the state's right-of-publicity statute. The election deepfake bucket is currently unregulated after the 2024 law was struck down.

Hawaii addresses the three major deepfake categories unevenly. The state's criminal deepfake law (HRS 711-1110.9) is the oldest and strongest: it covers nonconsensual sexual deepfakes as a serious felony. Right-of-publicity law provides a civil pathway for commercial voice and likeness theft but has no AI-specific update. Election deepfakes are the largest gap: Act 191 (2024) was permanently blocked by a federal court in January 2026, leaving no state-level election deepfake prohibition in force.

A significant 2026 bill, HB 2137, cleared both chambers with strong support and would address all three buckets to varying degrees. It covers harmful commercial uses of "realistic digital imitations," requires disclosure of AI-generated content in advertising, and provides civil remedies. It was sent to Gov. Josh Green on May 7, 2026, and he has until July 15, 2026, to sign it, veto it, or allow it to become law without signature. Until that happens, HB 2137 is not law.

What Hawaii law does not currently cover: a state civil cause of action for NCII deepfake victims (HRS 711-1110.9 is criminal only), election deepfakes (Act 191 enjoined), and purely non-commercial or non-sexual synthetic media.

Sexual and Intimate Deepfakes

Hawaii's primary deepfake law is HRS 711-1110.9, Violation of Privacy in the First Degree, which was amended by SB 309 (Act 59, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, signed June 23, 2021). The amendment added intentional creation, disclosure, or threatened disclosure of deepfake sexual or intimate images to the list of conduct that constitutes first-degree privacy violation.

The statute covers what the legislature called "deep fake technology" used to place a non-consenting person's face or likeness onto nude or sexually explicit images or video. A person commits the offense when they intentionally create, disclose, or threaten to disclose a deepfake depicting another person nude or engaged in sexual conduct, with intent to substantially harm that person's health, safety, business, career, education, financial condition, reputation, or personal relationships, or as an act of revenge or retribution. The penalty is a class C felony, which in Hawaii carries up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

The statute's real limitation is its intent element, not its technology coverage. The text reaches any image of a "composite fictitious person" that includes the recognizable physical characteristics of a known person, which covers fully synthetic images as well as face swaps. But the offense applies only when the image is made or disclosed with intent to substantially harm the depicted person, or as an act of revenge or retribution, so harmful deepfakes created without provable intent to harm may fall outside it. This gap is one reason HB 2137 was introduced.

For minors, Hawaii's CSAM statutes (HRS 707-751 and 707-752) cover "visual depictions" of minors in sexually explicit conduct, and federal CSAM law under 18 U.S.C. 2256(8)(B) fills remaining gaps for AI-generated material indistinguishable from a real child.

Hawaii currently provides no state civil cause of action for deepfake NCII victims. The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12, signed May 19, 2025) partially fills this gap by giving victims a platform takedown right: covered platforms must remove flagged nonconsensual intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes, within 48 hours. If HB 2137 becomes law, it would add civil remedies at the state level.

Election and Political Deepfakes

Hawaii has no enforceable election deepfake law as of June 2026. The state enacted Act 191 (SB 2687) on July 3, 2024, which prohibited recklessly distributing "materially deceptive media" of candidates during election season and required a disclosure statement for AI-manipulated content. The law was challenged immediately by The Babylon Bee, a satirical news website.

On January 30, 2026, U.S. District Judge Shanlyn A.S. Park permanently enjoined Act 191 as an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. The court found the law was content- and speaker-based, that its mandatory disclaimer requirement would "kill the joke" of satire and parody, and that Hawaii failed to show its goals could not be achieved through less restrictive means. The permanent injunction blocks enforcement of Act 191 entirely.

The ruling is consistent with a broader pattern: California's AB 2839 election deepfake law was also enjoined in August 2025 on First Amendment grounds. Election deepfake laws nationwide face ongoing constitutional risk.

HB 2137 (2026) contains some disclosure requirements for AI-generated content in advertising, but it does not recreate Act 191's election-specific prohibitions. If enacted, it would not restore a criminal election deepfake law.

AI Voice Cloning and Digital Likeness

Hawaii has no AI-specific voice cloning statute, but its existing right-of-publicity law, HRS Chapter 482P (Hawaii Publicity Rights Act), already protects an individual's name, voice, signature, and likeness from unauthorized commercial use. Any person who uses a living or deceased individual's voice in goods, services, or advertising in Hawaii without consent can face civil liability under HRS 482P-2.

The voice protection under 482P is general and not specific to AI. It applies to unauthorized commercial use of voice regardless of the technology used to replicate it. This means an AI-generated voice clone used in a product advertisement without the depicted person's consent would fall within the statute's scope, even without a specific AI amendment.

The national reference point for AI voice legislation is Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Tenn. Code Ann. 47-25-1101 et seq., effective July 1, 2024), which was the first state law to expressly extend right-of-publicity protections to AI voice simulations. Hawaii's HRS 482P reaches a similar result for commercial uses through its voice-inclusive language, but without the AI-specific provisions or the service-provider safe harbors that Tennessee built into the ELVIS Act.

HB 2137 (pending) would go further, prohibiting harmful uses of "realistic digital imitations" more broadly and requiring disclosure when synthetic performers are used in advertising. For a comparison of Hawaii's broader AI regulation landscape, see Hawaii AI Laws, which covers AI regulation beyond the deepfake context.

Federal Law That Applies in Hawaii

Several federal laws apply to deepfakes in Hawaii 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 as "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 requires platforms to remove flagged content within 48 hours of a victim's takedown notice, enforced by the FTC. This law directly supplements HRS 711-1110.9 and provides the platform-removal mechanism Hawaii's state law lacks.

For AI-generated child sexual abuse material, federal law under 18 U.S.C. 2256(8)(B) (PROTECT Act, 2003) covers computer-generated images that are indistinguishable from a real minor. There is no First Amendment defense for indistinguishable material. This provides a parallel federal prosecution layer for conduct that also falls under Hawaii's HRS 707-751.

The FCC ruled in February 2024 (FCC Order 24-17) that AI-generated voices in robocalls are "artificial" under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, making AI voice-clone calls to phone numbers without prior express consent illegal nationwide. This applies in Hawaii regardless of whether any state statute covers AI voice fraud.

The FTC's impersonation rule (16 CFR Part 461, effective April 1, 2024) prohibits deceptive impersonation of government entities and businesses, including via AI voice cloning. The extension of that rule to individual impersonation remains a proposed rulemaking and is not yet final.

Two additional federal bills are still pending and are NOT law: the DEFIANCE Act (S.1837, 119th Congress) would create a federal civil cause of action for sexual deepfake victims with liquidated damages of $150,000, and the NO FAKES Act (S.1367, 119th Congress) would create a federal right of publicity for voice and likeness against unauthorized AI digital replicas. The DEFIANCE Act passed the Senate by unanimous consent on January 13, 2026, but still awaits a House vote; the NO FAKES Act has not passed either chamber as of mid-2026. For background on the DEFIANCE Act proposal, see the coverage of the DEFIANCE Act.

What Victims Can Do

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

For sexual deepfakes, the fastest route is a platform takedown under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act. Platforms must remove flagged nonconsensual intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes, within 48 hours of a victim's notice submission. No court order or police report is required to start this process.

For criminal enforcement, victims can report to Honolulu Police Department or the relevant county police department, or to the Hawaii Attorney General's office. HRS 711-1110.9 is a class C felony, so prosecutors have significant charging authority. The burden of proof requires showing intentional creation or disclosure with intent to substantially harm the victim, or as an act of revenge or retribution.

Hawaii currently has no state civil cause of action for deepfake NCII victims. Common law privacy torts, including intrusion upon seclusion and public disclosure of private facts, may be available depending on the circumstances, but they lack the certainty of a statutory remedy. If HB 2137 becomes law, it would add a civil remedy pathway.

For commercial AI voice or likeness use without consent, a civil claim under HRS 482P is available. The standard path is a demand letter followed by civil litigation if necessary. Consult an attorney experienced in intellectual property or privacy law for any specific situation.

For context on Hawaii's broader digital privacy framework, see Hawaii Recording Laws, which covers consent rules for audio and video recording in the state.

Penalty Summary

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Hawaii deepfake and AI laws as of 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws in this area are changing rapidly, and HB 2137 may alter the legal landscape before the end of 2026. Consult a licensed Hawaii attorney for advice about your specific situation.

More Hawaii Laws

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

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

Sources

Citations are listed below.