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

Kansas has enacted one of the most explicit state laws targeting non-consensual intimate deepfakes. KSA 21-6101(a)(8), amended effective July 1, 2025, directly criminalizes distributing AI-generated intimate images of an identifiable person without consent. Kansas has not enacted election deepfake or AI voice cloning laws, and its criminal statute does not include a civil remedy.

Information last verified on June 9, 2026. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed attorney.

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

The answer depends on what kind of deepfake and what the creator does with it. Kansas law now directly covers one bucket: non-consensual intimate deepfakes of adults, where the purpose is to harass, threaten, or intimidate. Two other major categories, election deepfakes and AI voice cloning, lack any state statute.

For sexual and intimate deepfakes of adults, KSA 21-6101(a)(8) is among the most clearly worded state NCII deepfake laws in the country. The 2025 amendment explicitly reaches images "created, in whole or in part, altered or modified by artificial intelligence or any digital means to appear to depict or purport to depict such identifiable person," covering both fully synthetic deepfakes and AI-manipulated real images.

For AI-generated child sexual abuse material, KSA 21-5510 independently covers the conduct through its broad definition of "visual depiction," which includes computer-generated and digitally created imagery. The statute also addresses "artificially generated visual depictions" as a specific category.

For political and election deepfakes, Kansas has no law. Both bills introduced in the 2023-24 session failed, and no replacement legislation has been enacted through the 2025-26 session. Creating or distributing an AI-generated deepfake of a candidate in political advertising is not a state crime in Kansas, though federal laws on fraud and election interference may apply in specific circumstances.

For AI voice cloning and digital likeness, Kansas has no right of publicity statute and no voice-specific law. Only common law misappropriation of name or likeness is available, and that doctrine does not explicitly reach AI-generated voice replicas.

Sexual and Intimate Deepfakes

KSA 21-6101(a)(8) is the centerpiece of Kansas deepfake law. The statute, which sits within the breach-of-privacy framework, prohibits disseminating "any videotape, photograph, film or image of another identifiable person 18 years of age or older who is nude or engaged in sexual activity" when three conditions are met: the person had a reasonable expectation of privacy, the distribution occurred without consent, and the actor intended to harass, threaten, or intimidate the depicted person.

The 2025 amendment by L. 2025, ch. 120 extended the prohibition to cover images "created, in whole or in part, altered or modified by artificial intelligence or any digital means to appear to depict or purport to depict such identifiable person, regardless of whether such identifiable person was involved in the creation of the original image." That final clause matters: a completely synthetic deepfake of a real person (who never appeared in any source image) falls within the statute.

Penalties under KSA 21-6101(b)(2) are felony-level. A first violation is a severity level 8 person felony. A second or subsequent conviction within five years is elevated to a severity level 5 person felony, which carries substantially heavier sentencing under the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines.

One limit: the statute requires intent to harass, threaten, or intimidate. A deepfake created and distributed with other motives, such as financial extortion or reputational damage, may not satisfy that element. Prosecutors in those cases might look to other statutes (such as blackmail or stalking) to complement a 21-6101 charge. There is no civil cause of action explicitly created alongside the criminal statute; KSA 21-6101 is a criminal provision only.

For AI-generated child sexual abuse material, KSA 21-5510 provides comprehensive coverage without the intent-to-harass limitation. The statute defines "visual depiction" to include "any photograph, film, video picture, digital or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical or other means," and defines "artificially generated visual depiction" as an obscene depiction that appears to show a child under 18, including imagery indistinguishable from a real child, morphed from a real child's image or generated without any actual child involvement. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 2256(8)(B) has covered photorealistic AI CSAM since the PROTECT Act of 2003 and operates alongside the Kansas statute.

The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12, signed May 19, 2025) supplements Kansas law for adult intimate deepfakes. It creates a federal criminal offense, punishable by up to two years in prison (three years if the victim is a minor), for knowingly publishing nonconsensual intimate visual depictions including "digital forgeries" created with AI. Online platforms must remove content flagged by victims within 48 hours; the Federal Trade Commission enforces compliance. Kansas victims can use both the state felony statute and the federal act.

The proposed DEFIANCE Act (S.1837, 119th Congress) would add a federal civil cause of action for adult intimate deepfake victims with liquidated damages of $150,000, or $250,000 when the conduct involved actual or attempted sexual assault, stalking or harassment. The prior-session version passed the Senate in July 2024 but died in the House. The Senate passed the reintroduced bill by unanimous consent on January 13, 2026, and it now awaits a House vote. It is not law. See news about the DEFIANCE Act and deepfake porn victims' right to sue for background.

Election and Political Deepfakes

Kansas has no enacted law addressing deepfakes in election or political advertising. The legislature considered two bills during the 2023-24 session: HB 2559 would have required disclosure when AI was used to create political media and made creating false representations of candidates a form of corrupt political advertising; SB 375 would have made it a Class C misdemeanor to use generative AI to alter a candidate's or official's appearance, action, or speech in campaign material. Both bills failed to advance.

No successor legislation was enacted during the 2025-26 session. Kansas voters and candidates have no state-law protection against AI-generated political deepfakes as of June 2026.

First Amendment considerations are relevant here. A federal court struck down California's election deepfake law, AB 2839, in its entirety in August 2025, permanently enjoining its enforcement on First Amendment grounds in Kohls v. Bonta. That ruling reflects the constitutional complexity of regulating AI-generated political expression. Kansas legislators may need to build in robust satire and parody exemptions if they revisit this area.

Federal law does not fill the election deepfake gap in any targeted way. Federal election law addresses fraud and intentional misrepresentation in some circumstances, but no federal statute directly prohibits creating or distributing AI-generated political deepfakes without more.

AI Voice Cloning and Digital Likeness

Kansas has no statutory right of publicity and no AI voice cloning law. A person's name and likeness can be protected through Kansas common law misappropriation, which allows a claim when someone uses another's identity for commercial benefit without consent. That common law theory does not explicitly reach AI-generated voice replicas or synthetic likenesses created without commercial exploitation as the primary motive.

Tennessee's Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-25-1101 et seq., effective July 1, 2024) is the national reference point. Known as the ELVIS Act, it was the first state law to extend right-of-publicity protection explicitly to AI simulations of a person's voice and image. Kansas has not enacted a comparable statute.

The proposed federal NO FAKES Act (S.4591, 119th Congress) would create a nationwide right of publicity for voice and likeness against unauthorized AI digital replicas. It has not passed either chamber of Congress and is not law. Do not rely on it for current protection.

For AI voice cloning used in robocalls, the FCC's 2024 ruling (FCC 24-17) applies in Kansas. The FCC held that AI-generated voices constitute "artificial" voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. § 227), making AI voice-cloned calls to phones without prior express consent illegal nationwide. The FCC issued a $6 million fine (finalized September 2024) against the political consultant behind the fake-Biden robocalls in the 2024 New Hampshire primary under this rule.

For general questions about how Kansas regulates AI technology across industries, see Kansas AI laws, which covers the broader state-level AI regulatory landscape beyond deepfakes.

Federal Law That Applies in Kansas

Several federal laws apply to Kansas residents regardless of the gaps in state deepfake legislation.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12, signed May 19, 2025) is the most significant. It created the first federal criminal prohibition on publishing nonconsensual intimate visual depictions, expressly including AI-generated deepfakes. Penalties reach up to two years in prison for adults and three years when the victim is a minor. Platforms must remove content flagged by victims within 48 hours; the FTC enforces that obligation. Kansas victims of adult intimate deepfakes now have a direct federal avenue alongside KSA 21-6101(a)(8).

Federal CSAM law (18 U.S.C. § 2256(8)(B)) has covered computer-generated and AI-generated child sexual abuse images since the PROTECT Act of 2003. Section 2256 is definitional only; the offenses are charged under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2251, 2252 and 2252A, which incorporate that definition. In Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition (2002) the Supreme Court held that virtual imagery not produced with a real minor is protected speech, so Congress narrowed the definition to material indistinguishable from a real minor, and 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(c) still gives a defendant an affirmative defense that the material was produced using only adults or was not produced using any actual minor. Kansas's own KSA 21-5510 covers similar conduct at the state level, though the Kansas definition requires that an artificially generated depiction be obscene.

The FCC AI robocall ruling (FCC 24-17, February 2024) applies nationwide, prohibiting AI voice-clone robocalls without prior express consent under the TCPA.

The FTC Impersonation Rule (16 CFR Part 461, effective April 1, 2024) prohibits deceptive impersonation of government entities and businesses using AI voice cloning or other AI tools. An extension to individual impersonation remains an unfinished proposed rulemaking.

The DEFIANCE Act and NO FAKES Act are pending bills only. The DEFIANCE Act (S.1837) would create a federal civil remedy for sexual deepfake victims; the NO FAKES Act (S.4591) would create a federal voice and likeness right. The DEFIANCE Act passed the Senate on January 13, 2026, but awaits House action; the NO FAKES Act has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee and awaits a Senate floor vote (as of August 2026). Neither is law. Always check their current status before citing them as legal protection.

What Victims Can Do

Kansas victims of deepfakes have several practical paths depending on the type of harm.

For intimate deepfakes of adults, victims can report to local law enforcement for prosecution under KSA 21-6101(a)(8), which is a felony. They can also file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act. Separately, victims can submit a takedown notice directly to the platform hosting the content; under federal law, platforms must remove the content within 48 hours of notice. Both state and federal tracks can be pursued simultaneously.

For AI-generated CSAM, victims or their families should report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline and to local law enforcement. Kansas prosecutors can charge under KSA 21-5510, and federal prosecutors can proceed under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2251, 2252, or 2252A, the charging statutes that incorporate the AI-CSAM definition in 18 U.S.C. § 2256(8)(B).

For election deepfakes, Kansas currently has no state statute, so victims of political deepfakes should consult with a campaign attorney about potential federal remedies under election fraud statutes and consider reporting to the Kansas Secretary of State or the Federal Election Commission.

For civil remedies, Kansas does not provide a statutory civil cause of action for adult NCII deepfakes. Common law misappropriation may apply when a deepfake is used for commercial purposes. The proposed DEFIANCE Act would create federal civil remedies if enacted. For AI-CSAM, federal law allows civil suits in certain circumstances under 18 U.S.C. § 2255.

For recording and surveillance law questions, Kansas recording laws address when consent is required to record conversations, which is a related but distinct area of privacy law.

Kansas Deepfake Penalties

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Kansas deepfake laws based on statutes verified as of June 9, 2026. This area of law is changing rapidly; always verify current law with official sources. This article does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Consult a licensed Kansas 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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