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

North Dakota enacted three deepfake laws in a single 2025 legislative session. As of August 1, 2025, creating, possessing, or distributing a sexually explicit deepfake without consent is a crime (a Class A misdemeanor in most cases) under N.D. Cent. Code 12.1-27.1-03.3, with a civil remedy of up to $10,000 in statutory damages. Separate laws require AI disclosure in political advertising and extend the state's CSAM prohibition to computer-generated images of minors.

Is It Illegal to Make a Deepfake of Someone in North Dakota?

Yes, under specific circumstances. North Dakota law covers two of the three main deepfake categories: sexual or intimate content and election-related content. Commercial voice and likeness exploitation is not yet addressed by statute.

The sexual deepfake prohibition (NDCC 12.1-27.1-03.3) is broad. It covers not just photographs and videos of real people, but also altered images and fully computer-generated (AI) depictions, so long as they show nude or partially nude figures and were made or shared without the subject's consent. Both the creator and the distributor face criminal liability.

The election law (NDCC 16.1-10-04.2) does not criminalize political deepfakes outright. Instead, it requires AI-generated content that impersonates a human likeness or voice in political advertising to be clearly labeled. A campaign ad built entirely from real footage needs no disclaimer. The duty applies only when AI-generated content visually or audibly impersonates a human, and the statute expressly exempts AI used solely for text generation, grammar correction, spelling checks, or stylistic editing that does not create a fake human likeness or voice.

What is NOT covered: purely artistic or entertainment deepfakes of non-sexual subjects, AI voice cloning for commercial purposes (no right-of-publicity statute applies), and defamatory-but-non-sexual deepfake videos. Those fall outside North Dakota criminal law, though civil tort claims (defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress) may still apply.

Sexual and Intimate Deepfakes

North Dakota's primary deepfake law, N.D. Cent. Code 12.1-27.1-03.3, was updated by HB 1351, signed by Governor Kelly Armstrong on April 21, 2025, and effective August 1, 2025. The law expressly covers real photographs, altered images, and computer-generated depictions alike. A fully AI-fabricated intimate image of a real person triggers the same criminal and civil liability as a manipulated photo.

The Class A misdemeanor, the highest misdemeanor tier under North Dakota law, applies to surreptitiously creating or willfully possessing such an image without written consent, and to distributing or publishing it with intent to cause emotional harm or humiliation or after the depicted person gives notice that they do not consent. A Class A misdemeanor carries up to 360 days in jail and a fine of up to $3,000. A separate Class B misdemeanor (up to 30 days and a $1,500 fine) covers acquiring and knowingly distributing a sexually expressive image that was created without the subject's consent.

On the civil side, the statute gives victims a standalone cause of action. A plaintiff can recover up to $10,000 in statutory damages, meaning they do not have to prove a specific dollar amount of harm. On top of that, the court can order disgorgement of any profits the defendant made by distributing the image. Injunctive relief and other equitable remedies remain available alongside the statutory action.

For images of minors, HB 1386 (also signed April 21, 2025) takes a separate track. It amends NDCC 12.1-27.2-01 and 12.1-27.2-04.1 to add computer-generated and AI-produced images of minors to the state's CSAM prohibition. Prior to HB 1386, legal analysis questioned whether North Dakota's CSAM statute explicitly reached synthetic material; that gap is now closed.

Federal CSAM law provides an independent layer of protection. Under 18 U.S.C. 2256(8)(B) and the PROTECT Act of 2003, computer-generated or AI-produced images that are indistinguishable from a real minor are federal crimes regardless of any state law gap.

Election and Political Deepfakes

HB 1167, signed April 10, 2025, created NDCC 16.1-10-04.2. The law covers any political advertising or communication that supports or opposes a candidate, political committee, or political party, or promotes or defeats an initiated measure, and contains images, graphics, video, audio, text, or other digital content created in whole or in part with AI to visually or audibly impersonate a human.

The required disclaimer is specific and must appear prominently: "THIS CONTENT GENERATED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE." The definition of "artificial intelligence" in the statute targets machine-based systems that generate content from data patterns, but explicitly excludes systems that are rule-programmed rather than generative. A simple automated graphic tool does not trigger the disclosure obligation.

Election deepfake laws in multiple states have drawn First Amendment scrutiny. A federal court struck down California's AB 2839 election deepfake law in its entirety and permanently enjoined it in August 2025 on free-speech grounds (Kohls v. Bonta). North Dakota's disclosure-only approach (requiring a label rather than banning the content) is generally considered more constitutionally durable than outright bans, but the legal landscape continues to evolve.

The law applies to all statewide and local elections and covers digital ads, social media posts, and broadcast content alike.

AI Voice Cloning and Digital Likeness

North Dakota has no statutory right of publicity and no equivalent to Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Tenn. Code Ann. 47-25-1101 et seq., eff. July 1, 2024). Tennessee set the national benchmark by being the first state to extend the right of publicity expressly to AI voice simulations. North Dakota has not followed it.

Using an AI voice clone of a North Dakota resident for a commercial advertisement, a podcast, or a media product is not a standalone state crime and does not give rise to a statutory civil claim in North Dakota. An affected person would need to pursue a common law misappropriation or right-of-publicity claim, and North Dakota courts have never definitively recognized one, so remedies are even more uncertain here than in states with established common law rights.

For AI-generated robocalls that use a cloned voice, federal law fills part of the gap. The FCC ruled in February 2024 (FCC 24-17) that AI-generated voices in robocalls qualify as "artificial" under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, making unsolicited AI voice-clone calls to phones illegal without prior express consent.

The proposed federal NO FAKES Act (S.1367, 119th Congress) would create a nationwide right of publicity covering AI-generated voice and likeness replicas, but as of June 2026 it has not passed either chamber and remains a proposal only.

Federal Law That Applies in North Dakota

The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12) was signed May 19, 2025, and is the first federal law criminalizing nonconsensual intimate deepfakes. It covers both adults and minors and expressly includes AI-generated "digital forgeries." The federal penalty is up to two years in prison (three years if the victim is a minor).

The Act also imposes a 48-hour removal obligation on platforms: once a victim notifies a platform that their intimate image appears without consent, the platform must remove it within 48 hours or face FTC enforcement. The compliance deadline for platforms is May 19, 2026. This federal takedown right exists independently of anything North Dakota offers and works even when the perpetrator's identity is unknown.

The DEFIANCE Act (S.1837, 119th Congress) would add a federal civil cause of action for sexual deepfake victims with liquidated damages up to $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 119th Congress version passed the Senate by unanimous consent on January 13, 2026, but remains pending in the House as of June 2026 and is NOT law. See the DEFIANCE Act update for the latest status.

The FTC's Impersonation Rule (16 CFR Part 461, eff. April 1, 2024) prohibits AI-generated impersonation of government entities and businesses. The individual-impersonation extension remains an unfinalized proposed rulemaking.

Federal CSAM statutes (18 U.S.C. 2256) cover AI-generated images indistinguishable from real minors, regardless of whether North Dakota's HB 1386 would independently reach the same conduct.

What Victims Can Do

If you are the victim of a sexual deepfake in North Dakota, your first options are criminal and civil.

On the criminal side, file a report with local law enforcement or the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Under NDCC 12.1-27.1-03.3, both the person who created the image and any person who distributed it can be charged. Preserve all evidence (screenshots, URLs, messages) before attempting to get the content removed, because platforms often delete content quickly once a takedown request is made.

On the civil side, you can sue the creator or distributor directly under the NDCC 12.1-27.1-03.3 civil cause of action for up to $10,000 in statutory damages, disgorgement of profits, and injunctive relief. You do not need to prove actual dollar damages to collect statutory damages.

For platform removal, use the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act process: submit a notice to the platform identifying the content, and the platform must remove it within 48 hours. This applies to any platform operating in the United States. The FTC enforces compliance.

For political deepfakes, a complaint can be filed with the North Dakota Secretary of State, which administers campaign finance and political advertising laws under Chapter 16.1-10.

Penalties at a Glance

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about North Dakota deepfake laws and is not legal advice. Deepfake and AI laws are changing rapidly; several of the laws described here took effect in 2025, and federal legislation is still evolving. If you have been harmed by a deepfake or face charges, consult a licensed North Dakota attorney.

More North Dakota Laws

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• North Dakota Data Privacy Laws