Deepfakes Heatmap

Alabama HB 172 has been on the books since October 1, 2024. The law makes it a crime to knowingly distribute AI-generated media that falsely depicts a real person in the 90 days before an election with intent to harm a candidate's reputation or deceive voters. A clear AI-manipulated label is treated as a recognized defense.

• The rule is squarely about election deception in the final 90-day window — it doesn't reach AI-generated content in everyday family or school contexts, and it isn't about deepfakes of private individuals outside that window.
• The Attorney General, the depicted person, the candidate, and recognized voter-interest groups can ask a court to stop distribution — that civil-injunction path runs in parallel with the criminal offense.
• If the media carries a clear, on-the-content disclaimer that it is AI-manipulated, that single label is what shifts a piece from likely-prohibited to likely-protected.

• Read HB 172 (2024) directly on the Alabama Legislature's enrolled-bill page if you want to see the exact 90-day window definition and the disclaimer carve-out.
• If you're concerned about a deepfake outside an election context, Alabama HB 172 isn't the relevant rule — federal intimate-image and fraud protections, plus the platform's own content policy, are where to look.