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

Montana is one of the most active states in the country on deepfake legislation. As of 2025, the state has enacted five separate laws covering nonconsensual intimate images, a standalone crime of disclosing explicit synthetic media, AI-generated child sexual abuse material, election deepfakes, and the right to control your own voice and digital likeness. The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (May 2025) adds a national layer on top.

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

Yes, in several important contexts. Montana law divides its prohibitions across three buckets: sexual and intimate deepfakes, election deepfakes, and unauthorized commercial use of a person's voice or likeness.

What is NOT automatically covered: a deepfake that is clearly satirical, used for commentary or news reporting, or that does not involve an intimate image and does not falsely portray a candidate is unlikely to be criminal under current state law. Montana's HB 513 includes explicit First Amendment carve-outs for news, commentary, and parody.

If you share a realistic, non-disclosed AI image of someone in a sexual context, use a deepfake of a real candidate in a political ad without labeling it, or build a commercial AI tool that clones someone's voice without permission, Montana law likely applies.

Sexual and Intimate Deepfakes

Montana's primary NCII statute is MCA 45-8-213, which covers privacy in communications. Its deepfake provisions were added by HB 514 (Ch. 686, Laws of 2025), signed May 13, 2025, and effective October 1, 2025. The statute now expressly covers "digitally fabricated" intimate images, defined as media produced "using technical means, such as artificial intelligence, to create media that realistically misrepresents an identifiable individual." The law targets publication, distribution, or disclosure of such images to extort money or to cause harm.

Penalties under the expanded statute scale with repeat conduct. A first violation is a misdemeanor. A second or subsequent offense is a felony carrying up to 5 years in Montana State Prison and fines up to $25,000. Criminal enforcement is the primary remedy; HB 514 does not create an independent civil cause of action.

Montana also created a standalone crime of disclosing explicit synthetic media. SB 413, signed May 12, 2025, and effective immediately on signing, is codified at MCA 45-5-640. It criminalizes knowingly disclosing an explicit deepfake of an identifiable person when the discloser knows or should know the person did not consent and that disclosure would cause substantial emotional distress, disclosing with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, or injure, or threatening disclosure to extort money or other value. A first offense carries a fine of up to $1,000, up to 1 year in county jail, or both. A second or subsequent offense carries a fine of up to $10,000, up to 5 years in state prison, or both. If the person depicted is under 18, the maximum rises to 10 years in state prison.

For minors, MCA 45-5-625 was amended by HB 82 (signed April 7, 2025; effective July 1, 2025) to explicitly criminalize computer-generated CSAM, including AI-fabricated depictions of children. The bill responds directly to documented cases of Montana children's images being manipulated by AI tools. It is not a defense that the depicted child is actually an adult or a law enforcement officer.

Election and Political Deepfakes

Montana SB 25, enacted during the 2025 legislative session, addresses AI-generated election content. The law prohibits any person, committee, corporation, political party, or entity working in an official election capacity from distributing a deepfake of a candidate or political party within 60 days before voting begins, unless the communication clearly discloses that the image, audio, video, or other media has been substantially altered by artificial intelligence.

Complaints go to the Commissioner of Political Practices. A first sufficiency finding carries civil penalties under MCA 13-37-128. A second sufficiency finding must be referred for misdemeanor prosecution, punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to 6 months in county jail, or both. A third or subsequent finding must be referred for felony prosecution, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, up to 2 years in state prison, or both. The law also allows aggrieved candidates and political parties to seek expedited injunctive relief, actual damages, and up to $10,000 in punitive damages, plus costs and attorney fees.

SB 25 was already facing a federal First Amendment challenge as of 2025, after complaints were filed over political mailers that altered images of Republican legislative candidates. The litigation mirrors constitutional battles over similar laws in other states. Election deepfake laws nationally carry ongoing First Amendment risk, and courts have not yet settled where the line falls between required disclosure and compelled speech.

For context on how Montana's approach compares to other states, see our Deepfake & AI Voice Cloning Laws by State hub.

AI Voice Cloning and Digital Likeness

Montana HB 513, signed May 13, 2025, and effective January 1, 2026, is one of the most comprehensive voice-and-likeness statutes in the country. It establishes exclusive, transferable property rights for each Montana resident (or anyone domiciled in Montana at the time of death) over their name, voice, and visual likeness.

The law directly targets AI replicas. It prohibits the unauthorized publication or distribution of highly realistic, computer-generated digital voice depictions and digital visual depictions of a person for commercial use without consent. Rights survive death and remain enforceable for 20 years after the person's passing, making them descendible to heirs.

Civil damages are substantial: $50,000 per violation, or actual damages, whichever is greater, plus any profits from the unauthorized use. The same damages apply whether the violation is publishing an unauthorized replica for commercial use or distributing technology built primarily to produce unauthorized replicas of an identified person. Courts may also award punitive damages and attorney fees, and claims must be filed within 4 years of discovery.

Montana's HB 513 is modeled on the framework pioneered by Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Tenn. Code Ann. 47-25-1101 et seq., effective July 1, 2024), which was the first state law to extend right of publicity specifically to AI voice simulations. Montana goes further by covering both voice and visual likeness together and by including a post-death right.

HB 513 includes First Amendment exceptions for news reporting, commentary, criticism, satire, and parody, so realistic AI-generated content used in clearly satirical contexts is not automatically actionable.

For general AI regulation in Montana beyond deepfakes, see Montana AI Laws.

Federal Law That Applies in Montana

The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12) was signed into law on May 19, 2025. It creates a federal crime for knowingly publishing nonconsensual intimate visual depictions of adults or minors, expressly including AI-generated deepfakes (called "digital forgeries" in the text). Penalties reach up to 2 years in federal prison (3 years when the victim is a minor).

Critically, platforms must remove content within 48 hours after a victim submits a removal notice. The compliance deadline for that platform obligation is May 19, 2026. The Federal Trade Commission enforces both the criminal and platform provisions.

The FCC ruled in February 2024 (FCC 24-17) that AI-generated voices in robocalls qualify as "artificial" under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. 227). Unwanted AI voice-clone robocalls to phones are illegal nationwide without prior express consent.

Federal CSAM law (18 U.S.C. 2256(8)(B)) already covers computer-generated images "indistinguishable from a real minor" under the PROTECT Act, independent of any state law gaps.

Two proposed federal laws are frequently cited but are NOT yet enacted. The DEFIANCE Act (S.1837, 119th Congress) would create a federal civil cause of action for sexual deepfakes with liquidated damages of $150,000, rising to $250,000 where the conduct involved actual or attempted sexual assault, stalking, or harassment. It passed the Senate by unanimous consent on January 13, 2026, but is still pending in the House. The NO FAKES Act (S.1367, 119th Congress) would create a federal right of publicity against unauthorized AI voice and likeness replicas. Both bills remain pending in Congress as of mid-2026 and should not be treated as law.

What Victims Can Do

Victims of intimate deepfakes in Montana have several paths. For criminal enforcement, file a complaint with local law enforcement under MCA 45-8-213 or MCA 45-5-640. Because these offenses turn on intent and knowledge elements (such as intent to terrify, extort, or cause harm), documenting the context and communication surrounding the image strengthens a complaint.

For election deepfakes, file a complaint with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices. Candidates may also file for a court injunction directly. SB 25 also lets a prevailing candidate recover actual damages plus up to $10,000 in punitive damages, beyond the administrative penalty structure.

For unauthorized AI voice or likeness use, HB 513 creates a direct civil claim. Given the $50,000-per-violation floor, this is the strongest civil remedy available in Montana for commercial AI replica cases.

Under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, victims can submit removal notices directly to platforms. Platforms must act within 48 hours. The FTC's consumer complaint portal is also available for violations.

Montana's recording consent laws and data privacy rules may apply to related conduct. See Montana Recording Laws and Montana Data Privacy Laws for those frameworks.

Penalties at a Glance

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Montana's deepfake and AI image laws, not legal advice. Laws in this area are changing rapidly. The information above reflects statutes and enacted legislation as of mid-2026. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Montana attorney.

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Sources

The following primary legal sources were used to prepare this article.