Law / United States / 
Hawaii
Artificial Intelligence; Digital Imitation; Personal Likeness; Protections (2026 Haw. Sess. Laws Act 247, H.B. 2137 CD1)
Haw. Rev. Stat. new chapter, sections -1 to -5 (2026 Haw. Sess. Laws Act 247)
In force since .
An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.
- Private right of action
- Yes
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
- Audit expectation
- none
- Setting the rule reaches
- General, Advertising
As of .
What it requires
- Do not knowingly publish a realistic digital imitation of an identifiable individual without that individual's consent if the imitation is used in connection with an advertisement, causes harm, or is used to commit fraud, defamation, harassment, or other criminal acts.
- A digital imitation is any highly realistic AI-generated depiction, audio, or video derived from an actual, particular individual's identifying characteristics that portrays the individual's voice, face, or likeness in a sound recording or audiovisual work in which the individual did not actually perform or appear.
- Consent must be express, written permission from the depicted individual or the individual's authorized representative.
- The prohibition does not reach parody, satire, commentary, criticism, scholarship, or political or educational expression, or news reporting that uses the content to illustrate a story.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Hawaii Attorney General (injunctive or other equitable relief) and the depicted individual or the individual's estate
What it makes you log
Logging duty
The chapter states no duty for anyone to create, keep, or produce a log or record.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
House Bill 2137 of 2026 adds a new chapter to the Hawaii Revised Statutes on artificial intelligence, digital imitation, and personal likeness. It is unlawful for any person to knowingly publish a realistic digital imitation of an identifiable individual without that individual's consent if the imitation is used in connection with an advertisement, causes harm, or is used to commit fraud, defamation, harassment, or other criminal acts.
A digital imitation is any highly realistic AI-generated depiction, audio, or video that is derived from or based upon identifying characteristics of an actual, particular individual and portrays that individual's voice, face, or likeness in a sound recording or audiovisual work in which the individual did not actually perform or appear. Consent means express, written permission from a depicted individual or the depicted individual's authorized representative.
The chapter does not apply to content generated or altered by artificial intelligence that is a form of parody, satire, commentary, criticism, scholarship, or political or educational expression. The chapter does not apply to news reporting where the content generated or altered by artificial intelligence is used to illustrate a story.
The chapter does not apply to any medium used for the publication or dissemination of third-party content, but only as to the medium's role in publishing or disseminating that content. The individual, or the individual's estate for up to ten years after the death of the individual, may bring a civil action for injunctive relief and for monetary damages of up to $25,000 per advertisement or recovery of actual damages.
The attorney general may bring a cause of action for injunctive or other equitable relief in instances in which the distribution of realistic digital imitations involves broad public interest or widespread harm. The Governor signed House Bill 2137 as Act 247 on . The act takes effect upon its approval.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app generates audio with AI, generates images with AI or generates video with AI.