North Carolina AI Regulatory Reform Act (Deepfake/NCII Provisions)
AI Regulatory Reform Act
North Carolina · H 934, North Carolina General Assembly, 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Status
- Proposed / pending
- Applies to
- Persons who knowingly create or solicit deepfakes with intent to harm, extort, or influence elections
- Enforced by
- North Carolina courts; district attorneys
Would make it a crime to create, distribute or solicit a deepfake — an AI-generated or digitally altered image, audio or video falsely showing a real person — without that person's consent, when done to harass, extort, threaten or harm them, or to injure a candidate or influence an election. A violation would be a Class 1 misdemeanor. Victims could sue for actual damages of at least $1,000 per redistribution or $10,000 (whichever is higher), plus punitive damages and attorneys' fees. The bill also shields AI developers from civil liability when a licensed professional uses their product in serving a client.
Who is protected: Individuals falsely depicted in harmful or exploitative deepfakes; electoral candidates
Legal detail
H934v2 (committee substitute, 5/6/2025): creates G.S. 14-459 (unlawful distribution of a deepfake) — Class 1 misdemeanor to knowingly create with intent to distribute, distribute, or solicit a deepfake without the depicted person's affirmative consent for harassment/extortion/threat/harm or to injure a candidate or influence an election; civil action for actual damages but not less than liquidated damages ($1,000 per redistribution or $10,000, whichever is higher), punitive damages and fees; technology providers/developers not liable for users' deepfakes. Creates G.S. 1-539.31 granting AI developers immunity from civil liability for a learned professional's use of their product. Sections 1 and 2 would take effect December 1, 2025.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Citation | H 934, North Carolina General Assembly, 2025-2026 Regular Session |
| Private right of action | Yes, individuals can sue |
| Penalties | Class 1 misdemeanor; civil action for actual damages of not less than $1,000 per redistribution or $10,000 (whichever is higher), plus punitive damages and attorneys' fees |
| Topics | non-consensual intimate imagery · deepfakes · AI-generated images |
| Bill text | NC North Carolina AI Regulatory Reform Act (Deepfake/NCII Provisions) — official record (www.ncleg.gov) |
More AI rules in North Carolina
- North Carolina Senate Bill 730 (Data Center Water and Cooling… · Proposed / pending
- NC AI Strategic Roadmap (released Jul. 1, 2026) · In effect
- North Carolina AG LivCor algorithmic rent settlement (2026) · In effect
- NC AG framework for a Duke data center rate class (2026) · Proposed / pending
- NC HB 469 (2017 AV statute) · In effect
- NC HB 591 (AI CSAM, deepfake intimate images & sextortion) · In effect
Related non-consensual intimate imagery rules elsewhere
- Arizona HB 2133 deepfake sexual content — vetoed 2026 · Vetoed
- Illinois HB 3851 — deepfake cyberbullying in schools (2026) · In effect
- TAKE IT DOWN Act · In effect
- DEFIANCE Act (deepfake-porn civil suits) · Proposed / pending
- NY S5959-D (2020, digital replicas + deepfake porn) · In effect
- Missouri Deepfake & Digital Media Protection Act · Proposed / pending
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