Law / United States / 
Maryland
SB 141 / Ch. 444 (2026), Election Deepfake Prohibition
Md. Code Ann., Elec. Law §16-905
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What follows is LexLint's own research summary of this law, not legal advice.
In force 4 months, effective 1 June 2026.
An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not knowingly, or with reckless disregard, create, use, or disseminate a deepfake, meaning AI-generated or other digitally manipulated media an ordinary person would conclude is an authentic depiction, with intent to impede or influence a voter's decision, misrepresent voter-registration or election facts, or induce or deter a ballot-question petition signature, where the act results or is intended to result in harm to a voter or petition.
- Satire or parody is exempt.
- A broadcaster, website, or periodical is exempt for content that carries a clear and conspicuous disclosure that it may contain deceptive audio or visual media.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 5 years, or both.
What it makes you log
Logging duty
Section 16-905 prohibits creating, using, or disseminating an election deepfake with intent to deceive a voter, and it exempts a broadcaster, website, or periodical that carries a clear and conspicuous disclosure. Neither the prohibition nor the disclosure exemption requires anyone to log, record, or otherwise document a deepfake or a disclosure. A companion provision of the same chapter, Election Law Section 2-110, gives the State Administrator power to subpoena records related to the dissemination of election misinformation, but that power sits in a different section and is not part of what this provision itself states.
- Kind
- None
- As of
- 21 September 2026
Who checks it
Audit expectation
none
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Effective June 1, 2026, a person may not knowingly or with reckless disregard create, use, or disseminate a deepfake, defined as an image, audio recording, or video recording intentionally created or manipulated with generative artificial intelligence or other digital technology to produce a realistic but false depiction an ordinary person would conclude is authentic, where the person intends the deepfake to impede or influence a voter's decision, misrepresent voter-registration or election facts, or induce or deter a ballot-question petition signature, and the act results in or is intended to result in harm to a voter or petition.
The prohibition exempts satire or parody and exempts a broadcaster, website, or periodical that carries a clear and conspicuous disclosure that content may be deceptive. A violation is a misdemeanor.
When LexLint raises it
generates_content
Read the law
official chapter law text, Maryland General Assembly
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.