Digital Readiness · Deepfakes

Where the law has caught up — and where it hasn't.

Every U.S. state, mapped against the topics moving fastest at the legislature. Click any state for the law and where enforcement actually stands.

Deepfakes

Washington

Limited or adjacent coverage.Stable.

Effective 2023-07-23 · 23 July 2023Next review by 2026-08-06 · 6 August 2026

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Sources

app.leg.wa.govWashington SB 5152 — synthetic media in campaigns for elective office

Why this status

Washington's SB 5152 (Chapter 360, 2023 Laws) has been in effect since July 23, 2023, signed May 9, 2023. The law gives candidates and campaigns a path to seek relief if synthetic media is used against them in a campaign for elected office. The rule is squarely about campaigns — Washington hasn't enacted a broader rule covering deepfakes for minors or outside campaign contexts.

What this means

The protection is narrow but real: it covers synthetic media used against a candidate in a campaign for elected office, not deepfakes in social feeds, group chats, or apps your kids use.
The depicted candidate is the one with standing to seek relief — that's the law's main mechanism. It doesn't open a civil claim for private individuals depicted in non-campaign deepfakes.
For AI-fakes outside campaign contexts — including content involving minors — Washington hasn't addressed those uses at the state level. Federal rules and platform policies are what apply to those gaps.

What to verify next

Read SB 5152 (Chapter 360, 2023) on the Washington State Legislature site for the exact campaign-context definitions and the candidate's path to seek relief.
If you're concerned about a non-campaign use of an AI fake — in a school chat, an app, a private message — Washington's SB 5152 isn't the relevant rule. Check federal protections and the platform's own policy instead.

How this was scored →

Public-source posture estimateNot legal adviceMap regenerated2026-05-08 · 8 May 2026