State posture profileMaryland

Maryland digital reality posture profile

Public-source posture estimateNot legal adviceState reviewed2026-07-07 · 7 July 2026

This page summarizes six tracked digital safety topics for Maryland, 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.

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.

Low confidence6 tracked topics

Posture meter

Lean and breadth across six tracked topics. Not a quality or political score.

Reactive-leaning
ReactiveMixedProactive

Lean

Reactive-leaning

Breadth

Narrow tracked coverage

State/topic detailMaryland

Maryland Synthetic Explicit Content law summary

Specific rule in effect.

Based on direct statute tracking.

Maryland makes it a crime to distribute a sexually explicit deepfake of a real person without consent. A 2025 amendment (Senate Bill 360, Chapter 219, signed April 22, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025) rewrote the state's revenge-porn statute, Criminal Law 3-809, so a covered "visual representation" now includes an image "created with or without using other existing depictions of the person that is indistinguishable from the person" — language that reaches AI-generated and digitally manipulated images, not just real photos. Separately, Maryland's child-pornography possession law (Criminal Law 11-208) already reaches a "computer-generated image that is indistinguishable from an actual and identifiable child." Based on public records as of July 2026, both protections are enacted and in effect.

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

  • Maryland's revenge-porn statute (3-809, amended by SB 360 in 2025) and its CSAM possession law (11-208) both reach computer-generated images indistinguishable from a real person or child, and both are enacted and in effect.

What to do next

  • Read the cited statute or bill text linked below to confirm the specifics for your state.

Citation-grade sources

Official sources

2
  • Maryland Code, Criminal Law 11-208 - statute text

    Official text

    Citation: Criminal Law 11-208 bars knowingly possessing a 'computer-generated image that is indistinguishable from an actual and identifiable child under the age of 16 years' engaged in prohibited conduct.

    Observed: 2026-07-07
    Open source
  • Maryland General Assembly - SB 360 (2025), Chapter 219 details

    Official text

    Citation: SB 360 (Chapter 219) amends Criminal Law 3-809, defining 'visual representation' to include an image created that is 'indistinguishable from the person'; approved by Governor 4/22/2025, effective 7/1/2025.

    Observed: 2026-07-07
    Open source

Provenance

Source basis

Official/public links curated

Confidence

High confidence

Review scope

Review centered on currently tracked state-level law

Last reviewed

2026-07-07 · 7 July 2026

References

  • Maryland Code, Criminal Law 11-208 - statute text

  • Maryland General Assembly - SB 360 (2025), Chapter 219 details

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