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

Utah has enacted some of the country's more comprehensive deepfake statutes. The state criminalizes non-consensual AI-generated intimate images of adults, requires disclosure labels on AI synthetic media in political advertising, and extends its child sexual abuse material law to cover artificially generated content. No Utah law yet addresses AI voice cloning as a standalone property right.

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

The answer depends on the category of content. Utah law covers two of the three major deepfake buckets squarely: sexual deepfakes of adults and AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Election deepfakes trigger disclosure duties but not a criminal prohibition. AI voice cloning currently falls outside Utah statute.

Creating a deepfake is not itself a crime in Utah in every context. The offense under 76-5b-205 is distributing a counterfeit intimate image without the subject's consent. A purely private creation that is never shared falls outside the statute's reach, though it could still give rise to civil claims such as intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Satire and commentary are not explicitly exempted by Utah statute, but the First Amendment provides some protection for clearly labeled parody that is not distributed as though it depicts a real event. Utah's election-deepfake statute covers only paid political advertising, not organic social media posts.

Sexual and Intimate Deepfakes

Utah Code 76-5b-205 is the primary tool against non-consensual intimate deepfakes of adults. As amended by SB 66, effective May 1, 2024, the definition of "counterfeit intimate image" expressly includes any visual depiction that has been "edited, manipulated, generated, or altered" using a computer or computer-generated process to depict an identifiable person's intimate body parts or that person engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The offense requires that the actor knowingly or intentionally distribute the image, that the actor knew or reasonably should have known the distribution would cause the depicted person emotional or physical distress, and that the distribution occurred without the person's consent. A first offense is a class A misdemeanor. A second or subsequent conviction arising from a separate criminal episode is a third-degree felony.

When the depicted person is a minor, the conduct becomes aggravated unlawful distribution of a counterfeit intimate image, a third degree felony (second degree felony on a repeat conviction) under the same statute.

AI-generated CSAM. HB 238 (2024) amended Utah's Sexual Exploitation Act (Utah Code Title 76, Chapter 5b) to add artificially generated images to the CSAM definition. The amended law covers content that "depicts an individual with substantial characteristics of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct" and that "would lead a reasonable person to conclude that a minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct." Simple possession of AI-generated CSAM is a second-degree felony. Distribution or production is a first-degree felony unless specific mitigating circumstances apply.

Election and Political Deepfakes

Utah Code 20A-11-1104, enacted by SB 131 and effective May 1, 2024, requires disclosure labels on paid political communications that contain AI synthetic media. The law applies to audio or video content that is substantially produced by generative AI and is paid for by a candidate committee, political action committee, political party, or any person using a political contribution to influence a Utah election or primary.

The specific disclosure format depends on the medium. For audio-only political ads, the words "Contains content generated by AI" must be spoken audibly at the beginning and end of the communication. For visual content, legible text identifying the AI-generated element must be displayed throughout the portion of the ad containing synthetic media; different labels apply for image-only, video-only visual, audio-within-video, and combined formats.

The law also requires publishers to embed tamper-evident digital content provenance metadata identifying the original creator, any subsequent editors, and any use of generative AI. The civil penalty is up to $1,000 per violation, and the statute creates a private right of action, meaning individual candidates or campaigns (not just regulators) can sue.

Utah's law does not criminalize election deepfakes outright. It focuses on transparency rather than prohibition. Courts in other states have struck down broader election-deepfake statutes on First Amendment grounds: California's AB 2839 was enjoined in August 2025, so Utah's disclosure-only approach may be more durable.

AI Voice Cloning and Digital Likeness

Utah currently has no ELVIS Act equivalent. Tennessee's Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act, effective July 1, 2024, extended that state's right of publicity to cover voice simulations generated by AI. It is the national reference point for voice-clone legislation. Utah has not enacted a comparable statute.

SB 149 (2024) created Utah's Office of AI Policy and imposed disclosure requirements when AI interacts with consumers, but it does not create any property right in a person's voice or likeness against AI replication. Existing common-law claims in Utah, such as false light invasion of privacy or intentional infliction of emotional distress, may apply in some voice-cloning scenarios, but they carry no guaranteed remedy and depend heavily on the specific facts.

For people whose names or likenesses are used in advertising without permission, a civil claim under Utah's Abuse of Personal Identity Act (Utah Code 45-3-1 et seq.) may be available, but that statute is limited to advertising uses and has not been extended to AI-generated voice simulations. The legislative gap leaves performers, broadcasters, and private individuals with limited recourse against voice cloning beyond federal law.

Federal Law That Applies in Utah

Two federal laws now give Utah residents additional protection regardless of whether a state charge is available.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12, signed May 19, 2025) is the first federal law to specifically criminalize the non-consensual publication of intimate images of adults and minors, expressly including AI-generated "digital forgeries." Violators face up to two years in federal prison (three years if the victim is a minor). Separately, the law imposes a 48-hour removal obligation on online platforms: once a victim submits a notice, covered platforms must take down the image within 48 hours. The FTC enforces compliance. This obligation applies in addition to, not instead of, Utah's own criminal statute.

The FCC's AI-robocall ruling (FCC 24-17, Feb. 2024) clarified that AI-generated voices in automated calls are "artificial" under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. AI voice-clone robocalls to phones without prior express consent are therefore illegal nationwide, including in Utah. The FCC issued a $6 million fine (finalized September 2024) in the wake of the fake-Biden primary robocall incident that prompted the ruling.

Federal CSAM law (18 U.S.C. 2256(8)(B)) already covered computer-generated images indistinguishable from real minors before HB 238 extended Utah's state law. Both apply simultaneously.

The DEFIANCE Act (S.1837, 119th Congress) and the NO FAKES Act (S.1367, 119th Congress) are proposed federal bills, not current law. The DEFIANCE Act would create a federal civil cause of action for sexual deepfake victims; the NO FAKES Act would create a federal right of publicity covering AI voice and likeness replicas. The DEFIANCE Act passed the Senate by unanimous consent on January 13, 2026, but it remains pending in the House and is not yet law. The NO FAKES Act is still in committee. Neither provides a remedy victims can use today.

What Victims Can Do

A person whose image has been used in a non-consensual intimate deepfake in Utah should report the offense to local law enforcement under Utah Code 76-5b-205 and request that officers note the AI-generated nature of the content for charging purposes.

For online platforms, the TAKE IT DOWN Act (eff. May 19, 2025) gives victims a direct path: submit a removal notice to the platform, which must act within 48 hours. The FTC oversees compliance and accepts complaints at ftc.gov. Major platforms including Meta, Google, and Snapchat have their own reporting portals for non-consensual intimate images that can be used simultaneously.

Civil options in Utah are currently limited to the criminal statute's deterrent value and general tort claims. SB 131's private right of action applies specifically to election advertising, not to private intimate deepfakes. That will change on January 1, 2027, when HB 276 (2026), the Digital Voyeurism Prevention Act (Utah Code 13-72b, signed March 24, 2026), takes effect and imposes civil liability with actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees on AI generation services and platforms that distribute counterfeit intimate images without verified consent. Federal courts have allowed IIED and false-light claims in some deepfake cases, but those require demonstrating severe emotional distress and a factual nexus.

Victims should preserve all evidence: screenshots, URLs, timestamps, any messages from the distributor before requesting removal, since the content often disappears quickly once a notice is sent.

Penalties at a Glance

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Utah deepfake and AI image laws, not legal advice. Laws in this area are evolving rapidly; Utah has passed multiple statutes since 2024 and federal law changed significantly in 2025. If you have been harmed by a deepfake or face charges related to one, consult a licensed Utah attorney for advice specific to your situation.

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Sources

See the citations below for the primary sources used in this article.

Deepfake & AI Voice Cloning Laws by State

Utah AI Laws and Regulation

Utah Data Privacy Laws

Utah Recording Laws