Code Penal Article 226-8 as Amended, Existing Offense Extended to Algorithmically Generated Content
Code penal art. 226-8, tel que modifie par la loi n. 2024-449 du 21 mai 2024 visant a securiser et a reguler l'espace numerique (SREN), art. 15
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force.
An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not create, or knowingly bring to the knowledge of the public or a third party, an algorithmically generated visual or audio content representing a real person's image or voice without their consent, unless it is obvious that the content is algorithmically generated or you expressly say so; France assimilates this to its pre-existing Article 226-8 offense and punishes it the same way.
- Expect the penalty to rise to two years' imprisonment and a 45,000 euro fine where the offense, including the algorithmically generated content assimilated to it, is committed through an online public communication service.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
SREN Article 15 added a sentence to Article 226-8's first alinea assimilating a non-consensual, algorithmically generated visual or audio content representing a person's image or words to the pre-existing offense already described in that alinea, punished with the same penalty that offense already carried, unless it is obvious the content is algorithmically generated or this is expressly stated. Article 15 separately inserted a new alinea raising that penalty to two years' imprisonment and a 45,000 euro fine where the offense is committed through an online public communication service. The article's pre-existing base fixed penalty for the unamended offense is not restated by these amending provisions and is not independently confirmed against a primary source.
Penalty structure
Aggravated tier added by SREN art. 15 (new second alinea of Code penal art. 226-8): two years' imprisonment and a 45,000 euro fine where the article 226-8 offense, including the algorithmically generated content this same amendment assimilates to it, is committed through an online public communication service. The article's pre-existing base tier for the unamended offense is not confirmed against a primary source and is not recorded here.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- 6 September 2026
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 45,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
French criminal courts (tribunaux correctionnels), on prosecution by the public prosecutor (parquet); no dedicated regulator enforces this offense.
What it reaches
Obligation class
Prohibition
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
SREN Article 15 amended the pre-existing Article 226-8 offense, whose first alinea had used the verb 'publier' (to publish) for its prohibited conduct; the amending text itself does not restate that offense's full original description beyond the verb it replaces.
Article 15 replaced 'publier' with 'porter a la connaissance du public ou d'un tiers' (bringing to the knowledge of the public or a third party) and added a sentence assimilating to that same, pre-existing offense, punished identically, a non-consensual, algorithmically generated visual or audio content representing a person's image or words, unless it is obvious that the content is algorithmically generated or this is expressly stated.
It also inserted a new alinea raising the penalty to two years' imprisonment and a 45,000 euro fine where the offense, including the algorithmically generated content this same amendment assimilates to it, is committed through an online public communication service.
When LexLint raises it
generates_contentprocesses_voice
Read the law
official Journal officiel text of loi n. 2024-449 du 21 mai 2024 (SREN), Legifrance (read through an archived capture of the official page
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