The Current Landscape of Deepfake Legislation in the United States: Analysis of State-Level Responses

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Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo

Published: 30 Jun 2025, Last Modified: 14 Jan 2026Journal of Information PolicyEveryoneCC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Abstract: This article analyzes deepfake legislation through 319 state bills proposed in all 50 states between 2019 and 2024. California, Texas, and Virginia were the first to enact laws regulating deepfakes in 2019. Since then, forty-eight of fifty US states have introduced or enacted at least one deepfake bill, with a surge in deepfake bills in 2024. Thematic analysis indicates a fragmented approach, with most bills focusing on political and sexually explicit content, and visualization highlights the status, trends over time, concentration, and sponsorship of deepfake bills across states to guide researchers and policymakers toward a stronger framework.