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AI Laws in Montana
As of 2026-08-12, AI Laws USA tracks 12 AI rules in Montana: 9 state-level rules and 3 county or city rules. Federal AI protections apply statewide on top of these — see the federal page. Each entry links to its official source.
Montana state-level AI rules (9)
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In effect
Montana HB 513 (property right in voice & likeness vs. deepfakes)
Montana · Effective 2026-01-01 · Mont. HB 513 (2025) (Ch. 685); codified in Title 30, ch. 14, MCA
Montana gives individuals a property right in their name, voice, and visual likeness. A person may be sued for damages if, without consent, they intentionally publish, perform, distribute, or make available to the public a digital voice or visual depiction of an individual for commercial use, knowing it is an unauthorized depiction of that person. The same liability applies to distributing tools whose primary purpose is producing such unauthorized digital depictions. The right lasts 20 years after death, with exceptions for news, commentary, and parody.
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In effect
Montana MCDPA
Montana · Effective 2025-10-01 · Mont. Code Ann. §§ 30-14-2901 et seq. (SB 384, 2023; as amended by SB 297, 2025, eff. Oct. 1, 2025)
Montana's comprehensive consumer privacy law, strengthened by 2025 amendments, gives residents rights to access, correct, delete, and opt out of data processing. The SB 297 amendment removed the 'solely automated' qualifier for profiling opt-out, meaning consumers can now opt out of any automated decision-making that involves profiling with significant effects — not just fully automated decisions.
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In effect
Montana HB 514 (sextortion deepfakes in privacy crime)
Montana · Effective 2025-10-01 · Mont. HB 514 (2025) (Ch. 686); MCA 45-8-213
Montana expanded its existing 'privacy in communications' crime to cover real or AI-fabricated sexual images. It is now an offense to publish or distribute such images of an identifiable person without consent to harass or harm them or to obtain money, and separately to possess such images and threaten to release them to extort money or other valuables.
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In effect
Montana HB 178 (limits on government AI use)
Montana · Effective 2025-10-01 · Mont. HB 178 (2025) (Ch. 427); codified in Title 2, MCA
Montana restricts how state and local government use AI. A government entity or state officer may not use an AI system to manipulate a person or group, to classify people in ways that cause unlawful discrimination or disparate impact, for a malicious purpose, or to surveil public spaces (with narrow exceptions). Government must disclose AI-produced material that no qualified human reviewed and disclose public-facing AI interfaces. Any AI recommendation or decision that could affect a person's rights, duties, or privileges must be reviewed by a qualified human who can reject or change it.
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In effect
Executive Order 5-2025 (406 JOBS Initiative)
Montana · Effective 2025-08-11 · Executive Order 5-2025 (406 JOBS Initiative)
Gov. Gianforte's order directs the Department of Labor & Industry and the State Workforce Innovation Board to expand AI training, integrate AI tools into workforce services, and prioritize AI-readiness in state talent-development programs.
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In effect
Montana SB 413 (crime to share explicit deepfakes)
Montana · Effective 2025-05-12 · Mont. SB 413 (2025), Ch. 606; MCA Title 45, ch. 5, part 6
Montana created a new crime for sharing sexually explicit deepfakes (AI-generated or altered images and video) of a real, identifiable person. It is illegal to knowingly disclose such media when you know the person did not consent and that the disclosure would cause them serious emotional distress, to disclose it intending to harass or harm the person, or to possess it and threaten to release it to extort money or other things of value.
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In effect
MT Right to Compute Act
Montana · Effective 2025-04-17 · Mont. SB 212, 69th Leg., 2025 Reg. Sess., signed Apr. 17, 2025
Montana became the first state to enshrine a constitutional right to compute, guaranteeing residents the right to own and use computational resources including AI hardware, software, and data processing tools. Any government regulation restricting these rights must meet a strict scrutiny standard.
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In effect
MT Election Deepfake Law
Montana · Mont. SB 25, 69th Leg., 2025 Reg. Sess.; enrolled bill: legiscan.com/MT/text/SB25/id/3212547
Montana prohibits unlabeled deepfakes in election and electioneering communications within 60 days of an election. If AI-generated media is labeled as such, it is permitted. Candidates falsely depicted can obtain court injunctions, the Commissioner of Political Practices can investigate and impose fines, and repeat offenders face criminal prosecution.
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Proposed / pending
HJ 4
MT · MT HJ 4
Interim study of artificial intelligence
County and city AI rules in Montana (3)
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In effect
Missoula County MT interim data center moratorium (eff. July 9, 2026)
Missoula County, MT · Effective 2026-07-09 · Missoula County, MT interim zoning moratorium on data centers, adopted July 9, 2026 (up to one year)
Missoula County became the first county in Montana to pause data center development, adopting a temporary interim zoning moratorium on July 9, 2026. The pause can last up to one year and applies to the unincorporated county — not inside the City of Missoula. The county must begin studying data center regulations within 30 days.
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Proposed / pending
Yellowstone County data center construction voter-approval i
Yellowstone County · Yellowstone County data center construction voter-approval initiative
A citizen ballot initiative gathering signatures for the November 2026 ballot would require approval from two-thirds of registered voters before any data center may be built or expanded in Yellowstone County.
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Proposed / pending
City Council delays AI-capable park security camera purchase
Missoula, MT · City Council delays AI-capable park security camera purchase pending a surveillance policy
The Missoula City Council delayed a $366,390 park security camera upgrade contract over resident concerns about AI features like facial recognition, directing the administration to draft a surveillance policy before any purchase.
Montana city guides
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