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

New York is one of the most legally active states on deepfakes. Penal Law § 245.15 was amended in 2023 to expressly criminalize AI-altered intimate images, Civil Rights Law § 52-c provides a civil cause of action for sexually explicit digital replicas, Election Law § 14-106 was updated in April 2024 to require disclosure on AI-manipulated political media, and Civil Rights Law § 50-f protects the digital likenesses of deceased performers. Federal law adds further layers.

Is It Illegal to Make a Deepfake of Someone in New York?

Yes, in most contexts that cause harm. New York covers all three major deepfake buckets: sexual and intimate images, election communications, and commercial voice and likeness exploitation. The state does not have a single omnibus deepfake statute but instead layers multiple targeted laws across its Penal Law and Civil Rights Law. That layered structure gives victims more than one avenue to pursue accountability.

One remaining gray area: the FY2026 state budget (signed May 2025) amended the Penal Law to treat AI-manipulated sexual images of real children as child sexual abuse material, but purely synthetic depictions not based on an identifiable child remain a debated gap that federal law fills independently. Purely non-commercial, non-sexual deepfakes of private individuals in non-electoral contexts may not trigger any specific New York statute, though common law claims for defamation or false light may still apply.

For a broader view of how New York regulates artificial intelligence across industries, see New York AI Laws, which covers algorithmic decision-making, employment bias, and consumer-facing AI obligations. This page focuses specifically on deepfake criminal liability and civil remedies.

Sexual and Intimate Deepfakes

Penal Law § 245.15 is New York's primary criminal statute for nonconsensual intimate images. The 2023 amendment (S1042A, signed September 29, 2023, effective approximately November 2023) expanded the statute to cover images "created or altered by digitization," meaning AI-generated deepfakes that never involved an actual photograph of the person are now explicitly covered. The law defines digitization as altering "an image in a realistic manner utilizing an image or images of a person, other than the person depicted, or computer generated images."

To violate § 245.15, the person must intentionally disseminate or publish an intimate image with intent to cause emotional, financial, or physical harm to the depicted person, knowing that person did not consent. The statute covers still images and video. A person who originally consented to an image being taken can still be a victim if the subsequent deepfake-altered version was shared without consent.

A conviction under § 245.15 is a Class A misdemeanor, the highest misdemeanor grade in New York, carrying up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. While a misdemeanor, not a felony, victims who push for prosecution can combine it with the civil remedies under § 52-c.

Civil Rights Law § 52-c runs alongside the criminal statute and is the more powerful remedy for many victims. It provides a private civil cause of action against anyone who discloses, disseminates, or publishes sexually explicit material created through digitization when they know or reasonably should have known the depicted person did not consent to creation or publication. Courts have discretion to award injunctive relief, punitive damages, compensatory damages, and reasonable court costs and attorney fees. The three-year statute of limitations runs from dissemination or one year from discovery, whichever is later.

The combination of § 245.15 (criminal) and § 52-c (civil) means a New York victim has both state prosecution and a personal lawsuit available simultaneously. This dual-track framework is stronger than many states that provide only one avenue.

AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material

New York's base CSAM statute, Penal Law § 263.00, historically defined a covered "performance" in terms that did not plainly reach computer-generated images. The FY2026 state budget, signed in May 2025, modernized the Penal Law so that AI-generated or AI-manipulated sexual images of real, identifiable children are treated as child sexual abuse material. Purely synthetic depictions not based on an identifiable child remain a contested area, and the Digital Alterations Protection Act (DAPA), a standalone bill proposing felony-level offenses, was still pending as of mid-2026.

Regardless of any state-law gap, federal law applies. The PROTECT Act (18 U.S.C. § 2256(8)(B)) covers computer-generated images "indistinguishable" from a real minor in sexually explicit material, with no First Amendment defense available for indistinguishable content. Federal penalties run from 10 years to life depending on the conduct. Any AI-generated child sexual abuse material in New York can be prosecuted federally.

Election and Political Deepfakes

New York amended Election Law § 14-106 in April 2024 as part of the Fiscal Year 2025 state budget. The amendment added provisions addressing "materially deceptive media," which the statute defines as content that appears authentic or indistinguishable from reality, depicts events that did not occur or were significantly altered, and was created using software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other computer-generated means.

Any person who distributes a covered political communication with actual knowledge that it contains materially deceptive media must include a clear and conspicuous disclosure stating that the image, video, or audio "has been manipulated." For audio content running longer than two minutes, the disclosure must be spoken at the beginning, the end, and at intervals of not more than two minutes throughout.

Candidates whose voice or likeness is used in such deceptive media without their consent may seek expedited injunctive relief in state supreme court, along with reasonable court costs and attorney fees. Plaintiffs must prove deception by clear and convincing evidence. The law provides carve-outs for satire, parody, and bona fide news reporting with appropriate disclosure.

A First Amendment caution applies here: in August 2025, a federal court in Kohls v. Bonta struck down California's election deepfake statute (AB 2839) in its entirety and permanently enjoined it on First Amendment grounds, illustrating that election-deepfake laws carry ongoing constitutional risk. New York's disclosure-plus-injunction framework reduces but does not eliminate that exposure.

AI Voice Cloning and Digital Likeness

New York has one of the most developed right-of-publicity frameworks in the country for voice and likeness, built through several Civil Rights Law provisions.

For deceased performers and personalities, Civil Rights Law § 50-f is the key statute. It protects the name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness of a deceased personality or performer, including "digital replicas" defined as newly created, computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representations of the person's voice or likeness. Coverage extends to audiovisual works, sound recordings, and live musical performances. Protection runs for 40 years after death. A December 2025 amendment (S.8391) strengthened § 50-f by removing the prior requirement that a plaintiff show a likelihood of deception, making unauthorized digital replicas actionable even when the audience might understand the content is AI-generated. Minimum damages are $2,000 or actual compensatory damages, whichever is greater, plus profits attributable to the unauthorized use and potential punitive damages.

For living persons, Civil Rights Law §§ 50-51 prohibit commercial use of any person's name, portrait, picture, likeness, or voice for advertising or trade purposes without written consent. A violation of § 50 is a misdemeanor; § 51 provides the civil cause of action for injunction and compensatory damages, and where the defendant acted knowingly, the jury may award uncapped exemplary damages. Because § 50 expressly names voice as a protected attribute, unauthorized AI voice cloning used for commercial purposes (advertising, endorsements, merchandise) is actionable in New York even for living individuals.

The national reference point for AI voice-specific legislation is Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-25-1101 et seq., effective July 1, 2024), the first state law to extend right-of-publicity protection expressly to AI voice simulations. New York's existing §§ 50-51 already cover voice in commercial contexts, so New York's living-person protection is arguably broader in scope, though Tennessee's statute is more explicit about AI. For voice and likeness issues that overlap with biometric data collection, see New York Data Privacy Laws.

Federal Law That Applies in New York

Federal law provides several protections that run alongside New York's state statutes.

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 including AI-generated "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). Online platforms must remove flagged content within 48 hours of a victim's notice, enforced by the FTC. The platform-removal compliance deadline was May 19, 2026. This federal law runs alongside Penal Law § 245.15 and Civil Rights Law § 52-c, giving New York victims federal criminal prosecution and fast-track platform takedown as additional tools.

The FCC ruled in February 2024 (FCC 24-17) that AI-generated voices in robocalls constitute "artificial" voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. § 227). AI voice-clone robocalls to residential phones without prior express consent are therefore illegal nationwide and subject to FCC enforcement and civil TCPA suits.

The FTC Impersonation Rule (16 CFR Part 461, effective April 1, 2024) prohibits deceptive AI-assisted impersonation of government entities and businesses. The individual-impersonation extension remains an unfinalized proposed rulemaking as of June 2026.

Two federal proposals remain 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, 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 and remains pending in the House. For background on the proposal, see news coverage of the DEFIANCE Act. The NO FAKES Act (S.1367, 119th Congress) would create a federal right of publicity covering AI digital replicas of voice and likeness, but it has not passed either chamber as of mid-2026.

What Victims Can Do

A New York victim of a deepfake has several concrete options.

For platform removal, the fastest step is a notice under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act. Platforms must remove flagged nonconsensual intimate images, including deepfakes, within 48 hours of victim notice. This applies regardless of state law and requires no court order.

For criminal enforcement, victims of intimate image deepfakes can report to the New York Police Department or local law enforcement. Penal Law § 245.15 (Class A misdemeanor) can be charged by local prosecutors. For federal prosecution of egregious cases, the U.S. Attorney's Office can pursue charges under the TAKE IT DOWN Act.

For a civil lawsuit, Civil Rights Law § 52-c gives victims of sexually explicit deepfakes a direct path to compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, and attorney fees without needing the criminal system. The three-year (or one-year-from-discovery) limitation period applies. For commercial voice or likeness exploitation, §§ 50-51 provide injunction and damages.

For deceased performer digital replicas, heirs or rights-holders of the deceased's estate can bring a claim under § 50-f for actual damages or the $2,000 minimum, plus profits and punitive damages.

For election deepfakes, affected candidates can seek expedited injunctive relief in state supreme court under Election Law § 14-106. An attorney experienced in election law should be engaged immediately given the time-sensitive nature of election cycle harms.

For context on recording consent and surveillance rights in New York, see New York Recording Laws.

Penalties at a Glance

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about New York deepfake and AI laws as of 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This area of law is changing rapidly. Consult a licensed New York attorney for advice about your specific situation.

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