HB 5106
CRIM CD-DEEPFAKE-HARASS
TL;DR
Illinois Rep. Maurice West introduced HB 5106 to add deepfake-based harassment to the state's criminal harassment statutes. The bill targets people who create or share AI-generated fake images, audio, or video to harass or intimidate others, making it a prosecutable offense.
How This Might Impact Your Business
Generative AI platforms operating in Illinois could face increased pressure to detect and remove deepfake content used for harassment, especially intimate imagery or impersonation.
Social media and content hosting companies may need to update Illinois-specific content moderation policies and law enforcement response protocols.
HR departments at Illinois employers should note that deepfake harassment between employees could trigger criminal liability, not just civil workplace claims.
Companies building voice cloning, face-swapping, or image generation tools should review user terms of service and add Illinois-specific warnings about criminal misuse.
The bill currently sits in the Rules Committee with no scheduled hearing, meaning immediate compliance action is not required but monitoring is advised.
Penalties would likely mirror existing Illinois harassment statutes (misdemeanor to felony depending on severity), affecting individual users more than platforms directly.
No carve-outs for satire, journalism, or research are visible in current bill status, which could matter for media and academic users of synthetic media tools.
What Should You Do
Ask legal counsel to track HB 5106 movement out of Rules Committee and obtain the full bill text once available for review of platform liability provisions.
Direct trust and safety teams to inventory current deepfake detection and takedown capabilities, particularly for non-consensual intimate imagery and impersonation reports from Illinois users.
Have HR review workplace harassment policies to explicitly include AI-generated content, since employee-on-employee deepfake incidents could now carry criminal exposure.
If your company offers generative AI tools (image, voice, or video), update Illinois user agreements and abuse reporting flows in anticipation of potential enactment.
Assign a government affairs contact to engage Rep. West's office if your business has concerns about scope, particularly around research, journalism, or satire exemptions.
Who It Affects
Sponsors
Status Timeline
committee
Referred to Rules Committee
February 10, 2026