Montana digital reality posture profile
This page summarizes six tracked digital safety topics for Montana, 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
Montana Deepfakes law summary
Based on direct statute tracking.
Montana SB 25 was enacted by the 69th Legislature in 2025 and is codified in Title 13, Chapter 35 of the Montana Code Annotated. The law prohibits anyone working in an official election capacity from paying for or distributing AI-generated deepfakes of candidates or political parties in election communications during the 60 days before a vote, unless the content carries a specific disclosure statement.
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 squarely about election windows — the 60-day window before a vote is what triggers coverage. It doesn't reach deepfakes in everyday family or school contexts.
- Aggrieved candidates or parties have a civil path: they can seek a court order to stop the communication and recover costs and damages. That injunctive path is alongside the administrative complaint route.
- Repeated findings can escalate to misdemeanor or felony charges — but the front-line enforcement runs through the Commissioner of Political Practices, not through criminal prosecution by default.
What to do next
- Read Montana SB 25 (Title 13, Chapter 35) on the Montana Code Annotated for the exact definition of "election communications" and the disclosure-statement requirements.
- If you're concerned about a deepfake outside an election context, this Montana rule isn't the relevant one. Federal protections and the platform's own content policy are where to look first.
Citation-grade sources
Official sources
1Montana SB 25 — deepfakes in election communications (enrolled bill, 69th Legislature 2025)
Official textCitation: SB 25 (2025)
Observed: 2026-05-05Enrolled bill text confirmed. Exact effective date not stated in the fetched bill text; codified into Title 13, chapter 35.
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
Montana SB 25 — deepfakes in election communications (enrolled bill, 69th Legislature 2025)
Enrolled bill text confirmed. Exact effective date not stated in the fetched bill text; codified into Title 13, chapter 35.
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