Deepfakes Heatmap

Minnesota's HF 1370 (Session Law Chapter 58) has been in force since August 1, 2023, signed May 26, 2023. The law does two distinct things: it creates a civil cause of action for nonconsensual sharing of intimate deepfake images, and it makes it a crime to use deepfake technology to attempt to influence an election. Together, that's broader than most state deepfake rules.

• Minnesota's rule reaches further than most — it covers intimate-image deepfakes (a civil claim a depicted person can bring) and election deepfakes (a criminal offense). It's two paths in one statute.
• For the intimate-image side, the harmed person is the one who can sue. The civil claim path doesn't need a prosecutor to open a case.
• For the election side, the criminal offense applies to using deepfake technology to influence an election — the prosecution is by the state, not by an individual.

• Read Session Law Chapter 58 (HF 1370) on the Minnesota Legislature's revisor site for the exact definitions and the differences between the civil and criminal paths.
• If you're concerned about a specific intimate-image deepfake involving someone in your family, the civil claim path is what the statute writes — a Minnesota family-law or civil-rights attorney can shape a request for damages or injunctive relief.