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

Nebraska outlaws deepfakes in two specific contexts: AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) under a criminal statute that expressly covers artificial intelligence, and nonconsensual intimate images of adults under a civil remedy law. A proposed election deepfake bill died in 2026. Nebraska has no voice-cloning statute, and no state right-of-publicity law covers AI digital replicas.

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

The answer depends on what the deepfake depicts. Nebraska law targets two narrow categories: sexually explicit material involving minors, and nonconsensual intimate images of adults. Outside those two buckets, creating a deepfake is not a standalone crime under Nebraska law.

Nebraska does not have a general-purpose deepfake prohibition. There is no statute banning AI-generated political disinformation and no criminal penalty for deepfakes used in harassment, even in the intimate-image context for adults. Commercial misuse of a person's likeness, AI-generated or not, can trigger civil liability under the state invasion of privacy statute (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 20-202). The civil Uniform Act fills part of the gap for victims of nonconsensual intimate images, and federal law addresses election interference and voice fraud separately.

Three buckets to know:

1. Sexual and intimate deepfakes involving adults: civil remedies are available now (and the civil Act is not limited to adult victims); the state criminal statute covers only real recordings, so federal law supplies the criminal penalty for deepfakes.
2. Sexual deepfakes involving minors (AI-CSAM): a serious felony under state and federal law, with AI coverage explicit in the statute.
3. Election deepfakes: no Nebraska law; the bill died in 2026.

Sexual and Intimate Deepfakes

Civil remedies (in force now). Nebraska's Uniform Civil Remedies for Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 25-3501 to 25-3508) provides a civil cause of action to an individual whose intimate images are disclosed without consent. The statute's definition of "depicted individual" expressly includes persons shown "by means of computer generation or digital manipulation," meaning AI-generated or doctored deepfakes are covered as long as the victim is identifiable.

The Act is not limited to adult victims. Section 25-3502 defines "individual" as "a human being," with no age qualifier, and § 25-3504(c) then carves out a parent, legal guardian, or person with legal custody from liability for disclosing a child's intimate image, only for § 25-3504(d) to withdraw that carve-out where the disclosure was prohibited by other law or made for sexual arousal, sexual gratification, humiliation, degradation, or monetary or commercial gain. That structure exists because minors are within the Act's protected class.

A plaintiff may recover economic and noneconomic losses including emotional distress. If actual damages are hard to quantify, the court may award presumed damages of up to $10,000 per defendant. Plaintiffs may also recover any monetary gain the defendant made from the disclosure, plus reasonable attorney fees and injunctive relief.

Criminal penalty (real images only). Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-311.08, first enacted in 1996 and last restructured by LB 630 (2019), criminalizes recording and distributing intimate images of real people. Distributing an image recorded in violation of the statute is a Class IIA felony for a first or second offense and a Class II felony for a third or subsequent offense; distributing a private intimate image without consent is a Class I misdemeanor, rising to a Class IV felony for repeat offenses. The statute contains no computer-generated or AI language, so it does not reach deepfake intimate images of adults. A 2026 amendment (LB 935, effective July 18, 2026) adds drone-related language but still does not cover deepfakes. Federal law fills that gap (see below).

AI-generated CSAM (minors). Nebraska's Child Sexual Abuse Material Prevention Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-1801 to 28-1806) explicitly covers computer-generated and AI-created material. Section 28-1802 defines "computer-generated" as material "created, adapted, or modified by using a computer, digital program or process, artificial intelligence, or any similar device or means." The statute covers visual depictions of real children, and of persons with identifiable physical features of a child, whether or not the material is obscene. A purely computer-generated person who merely appears to be a child is covered when the material is obscene (§ 28-1802(2)).

Penalties under the Act:

• Creation and distribution (§ 28-1805): it is unlawful to "knowingly make, direct, create, or in any manner generate any child sexual abuse material," or to distribute, sell, trade, publish, or provide it. A person 19 or older at the time of the offense is guilty of a Class ID felony for each offense; a prior covered conviction elevates the charge to a Class IC felony. This is the provision most directly on point for AI-generated material, and it is a materially more serious class than possession.
• Possession (§ 28-1803): Class IIA felony for adults 19 and older; a prior covered conviction elevates the charge to a Class IC felony.
• Possession with intent to distribute (§ 28-1804): Class II felony for adults 19 and older; Class IC felony for prior offenders.

LB 383 (2025) amended and consolidated these provisions, and Nebraska was among the first states to prosecute a case involving AI-generated CSAM under this framework.

Election and Political Deepfakes

Nebraska has no enacted election deepfake law. LB 615, introduced in January 2025, would have prohibited distributing deepfakes under the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act within 90 days of an election. The bill was referred to the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, received a hearing in March 2025, and was indefinitely postponed on April 17, 2026.

That means Nebraskans can create and share AI-generated political content without any state-law disclosure requirement or prohibition. Federal law offers limited protection: the FCC's AI-robocall ruling (FCC 24-17, 2024) prohibits AI-generated voices in political robocalls without prior express consent. Broader federal election deepfake legislation has not passed.

California's election deepfake statute was struck down and permanently enjoined on First Amendment grounds in 2025, signaling the constitutional difficulty these laws face. Nebraska's failure to pass LB 615 reflects both legislative inertia and those legal headwinds.

AI Voice Cloning and Digital Likeness

Nebraska has no statute specifically addressing AI voice cloning or digital replicas for commercial or non-intimate purposes. The state has not enacted an ELVIS Act-style law. Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-25-1101 et seq., eff. July 1, 2024) is the national archetype, extending the right of publicity to voice simulations produced by AI. Nebraska has not followed that model.

Nebraska does have a statutory appropriation claim. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 20-202 (enacted 1979) makes anyone who exploits a person's name, picture, portrait, or personality for advertising or commercial purposes liable for invasion of privacy. The statute does not mention voice, and no Nebraska appellate decision applies it to AI-generated voice simulations.

For voice fraud and impersonation, federal law provides some coverage. The FTC's Impersonation Rule (16 CFR Part 461, eff. April 1, 2024) prohibits AI voice cloning used to impersonate government agencies or businesses. The FCC's ruling under the TCPA makes AI-generated voice calls to phones without prior express consent illegal. Neither rule covers private entertainment or commercial use of voice simulations.

For guidance on how Nebraska approaches artificial intelligence more broadly, see Nebraska AI Laws, which covers the general AI regulatory landscape distinct from the narrow intimate-image and CSAM statutes addressed here.

Federal Law That Applies in Nebraska

Several federal laws fill gaps in Nebraska's coverage:

TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12, signed May 19, 2025). The first federal law targeting intimate deepfakes. It is a federal crime to knowingly publish nonconsensual intimate visual depictions of adults or minors, expressly including "digital forgeries" (AI deepfakes). Penalty: up to 2 years in prison, or 3 years if the victim is a minor. Platforms must remove flagged content within 48 hours of a victim's notice; the compliance deadline was May 19, 2026. The FTC enforces the platform-removal obligation. This law applies in Nebraska and supplements the state's civil remedy. Nebraska has no criminal deepfake statute, enacted or awaiting an operative date, so for an adult intimate deepfake the federal offense is the criminal avenue and there is no state charge to wait for.

Federal CSAM law (18 U.S.C. § 2256(8)(B), PROTECT Act 2003). Federal law covers computer-generated images of minors "indistinguishable" from a real child. That standard is Congress's response to Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (2002), which struck down the earlier Child Pornography Prevention Act provisions reaching material that "appears to be" a minor or "conveys the impression" of one. Ashcroft held that virtual imagery produced without any real child records no crime and creates no victim, so it stays protected speech unless it is obscene under Miller. The PROTECT Act narrowed the ban rather than overruling that holding, and 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(c) still gives a defendant an affirmative defense that the material was not produced using any actual minor, though that defense is unavailable where the depiction is of an identifiable minor. Federal CSAM charges often accompany state charges and carry severe mandatory minimum sentences.

DEFIANCE Act (S. 1837 / H.R. 3562, 119th Congress). This bill would create a federal civil cause of action for sexual deepfake victims with liquidated damages of $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. The current version, S. 1837, passed the Senate by unanimous consent on January 13, 2026, and is now pending in the House. It is not yet law. See our article on the DEFIANCE Act for the latest status. It is not current law.

NO FAKES Act (S. 4591 / H.R. 8915, 119th Congress). A proposed federal right of publicity for voice and likeness against unauthorized AI digital replicas. Not passed by either chamber as of June 2026. Pending only.

FCC AI-robocall ruling (FCC 24-17, Feb. 2024). AI-generated voices in robocalls are treated as "artificial" under the TCPA. Robocalls using AI voice clones without prior express consent are illegal regardless of state law.

What Victims Can Do

If you are a victim of a deepfake intimate image in Nebraska, you have several avenues:

Platform takedown. Under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, platforms must remove flagged nonconsensual intimate images, including deepfakes, within 48 hours of a victim's notice. File a report directly with the platform hosting the content.

Civil lawsuit. Under Nebraska's Uniform Civil Remedies Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 25-3501 to 25-3508), you can sue the person who disclosed the image for economic losses, emotional distress, presumed damages up to $10,000 per defendant, and attorney fees. The cause of action is available now and expressly covers AI-generated images. It is not limited to adults: the Act protects any "individual," defined as "a human being," so a minor victim of a sexual deepfake is within its protected class.

Criminal report (real images). If the image is a real recording rather than a deepfake, distributing it without consent is already a crime under § 28-311.08. File a report with local law enforcement or the Nebraska State Patrol. For AI-generated images of adults, state criminal charges are not available; use the federal avenues below.

Federal criminal report (now). The TAKE IT DOWN Act creates a federal crime. Contact the FBI or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) if the images involve minors.

AI-CSAM reports. Report AI-generated child sexual abuse material to NCMEC's CyberTipline, local law enforcement, or the FBI. Nebraska and federal law both apply, and penalties are severe.

For broader recording and privacy rights in Nebraska, see Nebraska Recording Laws and Nebraska Data Privacy Laws.

Penalties at a Glance

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information, not legal advice. Deepfake and AI-image laws are changing faster than almost any other area of law; a statute that is pending today may be enacted tomorrow, and one that is enacted may be challenged in court. If you are a victim or face potential liability, consult a licensed Nebraska attorney.

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

More Nebraska Laws

• Nebraska AI Meeting Recording Laws
• Nebraska Data Privacy Laws
• Nebraska Recording Laws
• Nebraska Sexting Laws