Delaware digital reality posture profile
This page summarizes six tracked digital safety topics for Delaware, showing where public legislative coverage currently looks more proactive, more reactive, broader, or thinner. It is a structural posture signal based on public disclosures, not a political or legal grade.
Last reviewed May 11, 2026.
Educational summary only
Not legal advice. Laws and enforcement change frequently. Verify current official statutes, regulations, and counsel where needed.
Overall state posture signal
Reactive-leaning posture with narrow tracked coverage.
Based on six tracked topics and public disclosures.
Posture meter
Lean and breadth across six tracked topics. Not a quality or political score.
Lean
Reactive-leaning
Breadth
Narrow tracked coverage
Delaware Deepfakes law summary
Based on direct statute tracking.
Delaware House Substitute 1 for HB 316 has been on the books since October 9, 2024. The law makes it a crime to distribute manipulated or AI-generated audio or video of a candidate within 90 days of an election when done with intent to deceive voters or cause harm — unless the content carries a clear AI-generated disclaimer.
Educational summary only
Not legal advice. Laws and enforcement change frequently. Verify current official statutes, regulations, and counsel where needed.
Why this status
Based on direct statute tracking.
What this means
- The rule is narrow on purpose — the criminal trigger is election-window distribution within 90 days of the vote, with intent to deceive. It doesn't reach deepfakes in everyday family or school contexts.
- A candidate depicted in a qualifying deepfake can ask a court to stop the distribution — that injunctive path is what the statute writes alongside the criminal offense.
- A clear, on-the-content disclaimer that the media is AI-generated is treated as a defense — that single label is what shifts a piece of media from likely-prohibited to likely-protected.
What to do next
- Read HB 316 (House Substitute 1) on the Delaware General Assembly's bill page for the exact disclaimer language and the 90-day window definition.
- If you're concerned about a deepfake outside an election context, this Delaware law isn't the relevant rule. Federal protections (intimate-image, fraud) and the platform's own content policy are where to look.
Citation-grade sources
Official sources
1Delaware HB 316 (House Substitute 1) — Deep Fakes in Elections, signed 10/9/24
Official textCitation: HB 316 (2024)
Observed: 2026-05-05Official Delaware General Assembly bill detail page. Status listed as 'Signed 10/9/24'; effective date confirmed as 10/9/24. Primary legislature source.
Open source
Provenance
Source basis
Official links still being curated
Confidence
High confidence
Review scope
Review centered on currently tracked state-level law
Last reviewed
May 8, 2026
References
Delaware HB 316 (House Substitute 1) — Deep Fakes in Elections, signed 10/9/24
Official Delaware General Assembly bill detail page. Status listed as 'Signed 10/9/24'; effective date confirmed as 10/9/24. Primary legislature source.
Open Delaware topic pages
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