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

Maine outlaws AI-generated intimate deepfakes of adults under its non-consensual intimate image statute, 17-A M.R.S.A. § 511-A, which was amended in 2025 to expressly cover digitally generated and modified images. A second law, signed April 16, 2026, extends the state's child exploitation statutes to AI-generated CSAM. Maine also requires a disclosure label on campaign advertising that uses synthetic media, under an election law signed March 23, 2026, and its voice and likeness protections rest entirely on common law.

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

Yes, in certain contexts. Maine law reaches four situations: intimate deepfakes of adults disseminated without consent, AI-generated sexual images of minors, undisclosed synthetic media in campaign advertising, and deceptive AI impersonation in commercial contexts. Outside those categories, including satire, parody, and non-intimate manipulations, Maine has no deepfake-specific prohibition.

The state addresses deepfakes through amendments to its existing criminal and election statutes rather than a standalone deepfake law. For a comparison with other states, see Deepfake & AI Voice Cloning Laws by State. Two 2025-2026 amendments to Title 17-A closed the most serious gaps. A March 2026 election law added a disclosure requirement for synthetic media in campaign advertising. Voice cloning and digital likeness protections exist only under common law.

Sexual and Intimate Deepfakes

Maine's primary tool against intimate deepfakes is 17-A M.R.S.A. § 511-A, titled "Unauthorized dissemination of certain private images." Before 2025, the statute applied only to authentic images taken without consent. PL 2025, c. 400, signed June 20, 2025 and effective September 24, 2025, added language covering "an image that has been created or modified so that it appears to show" the depicted person in nudity or sexual conduct. The word "generated" was added to the definition of "image" to expressly reach AI-created content.

To be criminal under § 511-A, the dissemination must be intentional or knowing, the perpetrator must intend to harass, torment, or threaten the depicted person or another, and the person sharing the image must know or should have known the individual is identifiable and has not consented. The depicted person need not have consented to any original photograph; an entirely fabricated AI image of a real, identifiable person qualifies.

Violation is a Class D crime, carrying a maximum sentence of less than one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. The 2025 amendment also allows a victim to seek a protection-from-abuse or protection-from-harassment order based on a violation of § 511-A, giving survivors a civil protective remedy even though the statute does not create explicit monetary damages.

AI-Generated CSAM for Minors

For years, Maine had a loophole: state CSAM statutes covered images of real children but were silent on purely AI-generated or computer-generated depictions where no identifiable real child was involved. That gap received public attention in 2025 after a Maine man manipulated photographs from a children's soccer game into obscene images but could not be charged under existing law.

Legislators responded with LD 524, sponsored by Rep. Amy Kuhn. The bill passed both chambers with unanimous bipartisan support and was signed by Governor Mills on April 16, 2026 as an emergency measure, taking effect immediately. PL 2025, c. 719 amends 17-A §§ 281 through 284 to bring AI-generated and computer-generated depictions of minors within Maine's child exploitation statutes. Federal CSAM law under 18 U.S.C. 2256(8)(B) (the PROTECT Act, 2003) also covers AI-generated images that are indistinguishable from those of real children, regardless of any state-law gap.

Election and Political Deepfakes

Maine enacted an election deepfake disclosure law in 2026. LD 517, An Act Regarding Synthetic Media in Campaign Advertising, was signed by Governor Mills on March 23, 2026 as PL 2025, c. 593. It adds subsection 5-C to 21-A M.R.S.A. § 1014, the statute governing disclosures on political communications, and takes effect July 29, 2026, which is 90 days after the Legislature adjourned.

Under § 1014, sub-§ 5-C, any public communication that already requires a paid-for disclosure and that contains synthetic media must also include the words "THIS COMMUNICATION CONTAINS AUDIO, VIDEO AND/OR IMAGES THAT HAVE BEEN MANIPULATED OR ALTERED." Synthetic media means an image, audio recording, or video that deceptively depicts a candidate saying or doing something the candidate did not say or do, or that has been manipulated in a way likely to give a reasonable person a materially different impression of the candidate. Edits for clarity, captions, and highlighting are excluded, and satire and parody are expressly exempt.

The law is a disclosure mandate, not a ban. A violation carries a civil penalty of up to 500% of the amount spent on the offending communication, five times the cap for ordinary disclaimer violations, and the Maine Ethics Commission cannot waive the penalty for a corrected synthetic media violation the way it can for other disclaimer errors. Broadcasters and newspapers are liable only if they run a paid communication with actual knowledge that it contains synthetic media. The Attorney General may seek injunctive relief against a violator who refuses to stop.

Maine's disclosure-only approach reflects First Amendment caution. A federal court struck down California's broader election deepfake law, AB 2839, in its entirety in August 2025 in Kohls v. Bonta, while courts have generally been more receptive to disclosure requirements than to outright bans.

AI Voice Cloning and Digital Likeness

Maine has no right-of-publicity statute. Unlike Tennessee, whose ELVIS Act (Tenn. Code Ann. 47-25-1101 et seq., eff. July 1, 2024) is the national archetype for voice-clone protection, Maine does not extend a statutory right of publicity to a person's voice or AI-generated digital likeness.

Protections in Maine depend on common law. A person whose voice or likeness is commercially exploited without permission may bring a misappropriation-of-identity claim under Maine common law, and a realistic AI impersonation that causes reputational harm could support a defamation action. Neither cause of action was designed with AI in mind, however, and outcomes are uncertain.

On the commercial side, Maine enacted Title 10 § 1500-DD (PL 2025, c. 294), which prohibits businesses from deploying AI chatbots in a way that deceives a reasonable consumer into believing they are speaking with a human without clear disclosure. Violations constitute an unfair trade practice enforceable by the Attorney General. This law does not address voice cloning in the context of impersonation fraud or artistic works; it applies specifically to chatbot-driven consumer transactions.

For comprehensive AI voice and likeness law, see Maine AI Laws and Regulation, which covers the full scope of Maine's AI regulatory landscape beyond deepfake-specific rules.

Federal Law That Applies in Maine

Several federal statutes supplement Maine's state law.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12, signed May 19, 2025) is the first federal law that specifically criminalizes nonconsensual intimate deepfakes. It makes it a federal crime to knowingly publish nonconsensual intimate visual depictions of adults or minors, expressly including AI-generated "digital forgeries." Penalties reach two years in prison (three years if a minor is depicted). Platforms must remove flagged content within 48 hours of a victim's notice; the compliance deadline for platforms was May 19, 2026, and the FTC enforces platform obligations. This federal law fills any state-law gaps and applies in every state, including Maine.

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 to phones without prior express consent illegal nationwide. This ruling was triggered by a deepfake robocall mimicking President Biden's voice during the New Hampshire primary.

The DEFIANCE Act (S.1837, 119th Congress) would create a federal civil cause of action for victims of sexual deepfakes with liquidated damages of $150,000 (or $250,000 if the conduct involved actual or attempted sexual assault, stalking, or harassment). It is pending legislation, not current law. The NO FAKES Act (S.1367, 119th Congress) would create a federal right of publicity for voice and likeness. It is also a proposed bill, not enacted law.

Federal CSAM law under 18 U.S.C. 2256(8)(B) covers AI-generated images indistinguishable from those of real minors under the PROTECT Act of 2003, applying in Maine regardless of state coverage.

What Victims Can Do

Victims of intimate deepfakes in Maine have several avenues. On the criminal side, a victim can file a complaint with local law enforcement or the Maine State Police, who can pursue charges under 17-A § 511-A for adult intimate images or under 17-A §§ 281-284 for child exploitation material. Federal authorities, including the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the FTC, can pursue cases under the TAKE IT DOWN Act and other federal statutes.

For civil protection, the 2025 amendment to § 511-A allows victims to petition for a protection-from-harassment or protection-from-abuse order, which can compel the perpetrator to stop distributing the images and stay away from the victim. Maine's general protection-from-harassment statute, Title 5 § 4651, was also amended in 2025 to support these orders.

Platform takedown is often the fastest route to removing content. Under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, platforms must remove reported intimate deepfakes within 48 hours of a verified victim notice, regardless of whether the platform is based in Maine. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) operates a CyberTipline that connects to major platforms.

Maine's recording and privacy law framework is relevant context for anyone affected by technology-facilitated abuse. See Maine Recording Laws for consent rules that overlap with surveillance and voyeurism-adjacent conduct, and Maine Data Privacy Laws for ISP and consumer data protections that may apply to image data.

Penalties at a Glance

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information, not legal advice. Maine's deepfake and AI laws changed significantly in 2025 and 2026 and may continue to evolve. If you have been affected by a deepfake or AI-generated image, consult a licensed Maine attorney for advice specific to your situation.

More Maine Laws

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

Sources

This page reflects Maine statutes as codified and amended through PL 2025, c. 719. Citations are listed below.