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

Ohio has no enacted state law specifically targeting deepfakes or AI-generated intimate images as of June 2026. The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (signed May 2025) fills the most urgent gap and has already been used to prosecute an Ohio man in the first conviction under that law nationally. State legislation, SB 163, passed the Ohio Senate unanimously in May 2026 and is now pending House action.

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

The answer depends on the content and the law you look to. Under Ohio state law alone, there is currently no statute that specifically prohibits creating or distributing a deepfake. Three buckets matter: sexual or intimate deepfakes of adults, AI-generated sexual images involving minors (AI-CSAM), and election or political deepfakes. Ohio has gaps in all three under state law, though federal law covers the first two.

Pending state legislation (SB 163) would change the picture on AI-CSAM and identity fraud. But until the Ohio House passes the bill and the Governor signs it, those provisions are not law. For now, conduct that would violate SB 163 may still be prosecutable under federal statutes, Ohio's existing identity-fraud and telecommunications harassment laws, or both.

Ohio's existing criminal code does reach some related conduct. Ohio Revised Code section 2913.02 (theft) and section 2913.49 (identity fraud) can cover unauthorized use of someone's likeness in certain fraud contexts. But these are not deepfake-specific statutes, and their reach depends on the specific facts.

Sexual and Intimate Deepfakes

Ohio does have a revenge-porn statute. Ohio Revised Code section 2917.211 criminalizes nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images with intent to harm, a third-degree misdemeanor (second degree with a prior conviction, first degree with two or more priors), and ORC 2307.66 gives victims a civil action. But the statute requires that the person depicted actually be in a state of nudity or engaged in a sexual act, and it does not expressly cover AI-generated deepfakes. Many states have updated their revenge-porn laws to include synthetic images; Ohio has not done so as of June 2026.

The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12) fills this gap directly. It makes it a federal crime to knowingly publish nonconsensual intimate visual depictions of identifiable adults or minors, expressly including AI-generated content the statute calls "digital forgeries." Adults: up to 2 years in federal prison. Minors: up to 3 years. Platforms must remove flagged content within 48 hours of a victim's notice; the Federal Trade Commission enforces that obligation.

Ohio's connection to this law is more than theoretical. James Strahler II, 37, of Columbus, Ohio pleaded guilty on April 7, 2026 to cyberstalking, producing AI child sexual abuse material, and publishing digital forgeries under the TAKE IT DOWN Act. He became the first person convicted under that law anywhere in the country. Between December 2024 and June 2025, Strahler used over 100 AI models to create sexually explicit images of six adult victims and children, distributing the material to victims' coworkers and families.

For AI-generated sexual images involving minors specifically, federal law already provides a separate layer of protection. Under 18 U.S.C. 2256(8)(B) and (11) (the PROTECT Act), computer- or AI-generated images indistinguishable from a real minor are covered regardless of whether any real child was used. That applies in Ohio today, independent of any state legislation.

If SB 163 is enacted, Ohio would add its own AI-CSAM felony: creating or distributing AI-generated sexual images of a real or purported minor would be a third-degree felony; possession would be a fourth-degree felony. The bill also does not require the image to depict an actual child, covering purely fictional-appearing AI content if it reasonably appears to involve a minor.

Election and Political Deepfakes

Ohio has no enacted law specifically targeting deepfakes in election advertising or political campaigns as of June 2026. SB 163 includes an AI watermarking requirement for certain AI-generated content, which would apply to some political materials, but the bill has not passed.

This is a contested legal space nationally. A California law targeting election deepfakes (AB 2839) was struck down and permanently enjoined on First Amendment grounds in August 2025. Ohio lawmakers considering election-deepfake provisions face the same constitutional constraint: satire and commentary using altered political imagery enjoy First Amendment protection, which limits how broadly any statute can be drawn.

For Ohio voters and campaigns, the current answer is that no state criminal prohibition applies specifically to deepfake political ads. Federal law on fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority (52 U.S.C. 30124) and FEC disclosure rules may reach some conduct, but there is no federal statute specifically criminalizing election deepfakes either.

AI Voice Cloning and Digital Likeness

Ohio does have a statutory right of publicity. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2741 (effective 1999) protects an individual's persona, expressly including name, voice, signature, photograph, image, likeness, and distinctive appearance, against unauthorized commercial use. Violations support a civil action with actual damages or statutory damages of $2,500 to $10,000. The statute predates generative AI and does not expressly address AI voice cloning or digital replicas, but an AI voice clone used for a commercial purpose without consent could fall within its existing protection of voice.

The national archetype for voice-cloning legislation is Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Tenn. Code Ann. 47-25-1101 et seq., effective July 1, 2024), which extended right-of-publicity protection expressly to AI-simulated voices. Ohio has no equivalent.

At the federal level, 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 is proposed legislation only and has not passed either chamber as of June 2026. It is not current law.

If SB 163 passes, its identity-fraud expansion would cover unauthorized AI replicas used to defraud or cause financial or reputational harm, including voice clones used in scam calls or fake statements. But the bill is not yet law, and its scope is narrower than a full right-of-publicity statute: it targets fraud and harm, not commercial exploitation of likeness more broadly.

For AI-generated voice calls to phones, the FCC's February 2024 ruling (FCC 24-17) already makes AI-generated voices in robocalls illegal under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. 227) without prior express consent. That protection applies in Ohio now.

Federal Law That Applies in Ohio

Several federal laws apply in Ohio regardless of the state-law gaps:

The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12, signed May 19, 2025) is the primary federal intimate-deepfake law, covering both adults and minors. As the Strahler prosecution demonstrates, it is being actively enforced. Victims can report violations to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) or directly to U.S. Attorney offices.

Federal AI-CSAM law (18 U.S.C. 2256) reaches computer-generated images indistinguishable from real minors under the PROTECT Act, providing coverage independent of any state-law gaps.

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

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 ($250,000 if the conduct involved actual or attempted sexual assault, stalking, or harassment), but it is pending legislation only. The 119th Congress version passed the Senate by unanimous consent on January 13, 2026 and is now pending in the House; an earlier version passed the Senate in 2024 but died in the House. It is not yet law.

For additional context on how these federal proposals are developing, see the DEFIANCE Act coverage.

What Victims Can Do

If you are an Ohio victim of a nonconsensual intimate deepfake, the primary federal avenue is the TAKE IT DOWN Act. You can report the offense to the FBI at ic3.gov or contact the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern or Northern District of Ohio. The Strahler prosecution was investigated by Hilliard, Ohio police in coordination with federal authorities, showing that local law enforcement can and does refer these cases federally.

For platform removal, the TAKE IT DOWN Act requires covered platforms to remove flagged intimate deepfakes within 48 hours of a valid victim notice. The FTC enforces this obligation. Platforms that fail to comply face FTC enforcement action.

Civil remedies under Ohio law are currently limited. There is no Ohio state statute providing a private right of action specific to deepfakes, though ORC 2307.66 allows civil suits over nonconsensual dissemination of real private sexual images and ORC Chapter 2741 allows suits over unauthorized commercial use of name, voice, or likeness. If SB 163 is enacted, it would add civil damages up to $10,000 per violation for unauthorized AI replica use under the identity-fraud provisions. Victims may also consult a private attorney about common-law claims including intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, or false light, depending on the facts.

For election deepfakes, contact the Ohio Secretary of State's office if the content relates to an election, or the FEC for federal campaign conduct.

Penalties

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Ohio deepfake and AI image laws, not legal advice. This area of law is changing rapidly at both the state and federal level. Ohio SB 163 has not been enacted as of publication; its provisions described here are proposed only. If you need advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Ohio attorney.

More Ohio Laws

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• Ohio Child Custody Laws
• Ohio Child Support Laws
• Ohio Common Law Marriage Laws
• Ohio Data Privacy Laws
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• Ohio Expungement Laws
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• Ohio Landlord-Tenant Laws
• Ohio Lemon Laws

Sources

See the citations below for primary legal sources referenced in this article.

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For the broader landscape of how states compare on these issues, see the Deepfake and AI Voice Cloning Laws by State hub. Ohio's general AI regulatory framework is covered separately at Ohio AI Laws, which addresses topics beyond deepfakes including AI in employment and public-sector use. For Ohio's privacy and data-protection rules, see Ohio Data Privacy Laws. Ohio is a one-party consent state for audio recording; see Ohio Recording Laws for how that interacts with recording-related AI tools. For AI-specific meeting and call recording rules, see Ohio AI Meeting Recording Laws.