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

Ohio Revised Code section 2917.211 already makes it a felony to disseminate a nonconsensual "fabricated sexual image," and a separate felony to create one with intent to distribute where the person acts in order to harass, extort, threaten, or cause harm. The statute does not define that term itself; division (A)(11) borrows the definition from ORC 2307.66(F), which is technology-neutral and never mentions AI. It covers a "created, adapted, or modified image" of a recognizable person in a state of nudity or engaged in a sexual act, which reaches AI-generated images by breadth rather than by naming them. Ohio does not yet have a dedicated AI-CSAM statute or an election-deepfake law; pending state legislation, SB 163, would add those. The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (signed May 2025) provides additional coverage for intimate deepfakes and has already been used to prosecute an Ohio man in the first conviction under that law nationally. 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. Ohio Revised Code section 2917.211 already prohibits disseminating a nonconsensual "fabricated" sexual image, and prohibits creating one with intent to distribute where the person acts in order to harass, extort, threaten, or cause physical, emotional, reputational, or economic harm. Both are felonies, and neither is limited by the age of the person depicted. Three buckets matter: sexual or intimate deepfakes of adults, AI-generated sexual images involving minors (AI-CSAM), and election or political deepfakes. Ohio state law reaches the first bucket directly through section 2917.211, and because the fabricated-image offenses carry no age element they reach fabricated images of minors as well; what Ohio lacks is a dedicated AI-CSAM offense and any election-deepfake law. Federal law separately covers AI-CSAM and provides overlapping coverage of adult intimate deepfakes through the TAKE IT DOWN Act, but no state or federal law specifically targets election deepfakes.

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 apply to some deepfake-adjacent fraud, but note the limit. Section 2913.49(A) defines "personal identifying information" by a list of identifiers: name, address, telephone number, driver's license number, state identification card number, Social Security number, birth certificate, place of employment, account numbers, passwords, and credit card numbers. Likeness, image, face, and voice are not on that list, though the list is expressly not exhaustive. 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, and it already reaches AI-generated content. Ohio Revised Code section 2917.211(B) criminalizes nonconsensual dissemination of a real private sexual image, where the person depicted is eighteen or older, with intent to harm. That is a felony of the fifth degree, or of the fourth degree if the offender has a prior conviction under division (B), a sexually oriented offense, or a child-victim oriented offense.

Separately, the statute reaches a "fabricated sexual image." It does not define the term. Division (A)(11) gives it the same meaning as in ORC 2307.66, and the definition in division (F) of that civil section is technology-neutral: "a created, adapted, or modified image" in which another person "is recognizable in the image by the other person's face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic" and is "in a state of nudity or is engaged in a sexual act." Nothing in it mentions AI, computers, or generation. AI output falls inside the definition because the definition is broad, not because Ohio singled AI out.

Two offenses follow, and they are not the same. Division (C) prohibits knowingly disseminating a fabricated sexual image of another person without that person's consent, with no harm-purpose element. Division (D) is narrower: it prohibits creating a fabricated sexual image with intent to distribute, or soliciting its creation, only where the person acts without the depicted person's consent and does so "in order to harass, extort, threaten, or cause physical, emotional, reputational, or economic harm to a person falsely depicted." Creating such an image with intent to distribute is not an offense under division (D) unless that purpose is present. Both offenses are felonies of the fourth degree, rising to the third degree if the offender has a prior conviction under this section, a sexually oriented offense, or a child-victim oriented offense.

The eighteen-or-older element appears only in division (B), which governs real private sexual images. Divisions (C) and (D) carry no age element, and neither does the 2307.66(F) definition, so the fabricated-image offenses apply whether the person depicted is an adult or a minor. ORC 2307.66 gives victims of any of these violations a civil action.

The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12) adds an overlapping layer of protection. 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 protects an individual's persona, which ORC 2741.01(A) defines as a person's name, voice, signature, photograph, image, likeness, or distinctive appearance where those aspects have commercial value. That section is definitions only. The operative prohibition is ORC 2741.02, which bars using any aspect of a person's persona for a commercial purpose without written consent, and ORC 2741.07 supplies the remedy: actual damages including attributable profits, or, at the plaintiff's election, 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.4591, 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.

Ohio law already provides a civil remedy for deepfake intimate images. ORC 2307.66 gives a victim of an ORC 2917.211 violation, including the nonconsensual dissemination or creation of a "fabricated sexual image," a civil cause of action for an injunction, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney's fees, with a legal presumption of harm. ORC Chapter 2741 separately 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.

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.

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