Law / United States / New Hampshire
Fraudulent Use of Deepfakes
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 since 1 January 2025.
An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not knowingly create, distribute, or present a deepfake of an identifiable person for the purpose of embarrassing, harassing, entrapping, defaming, extorting, or otherwise causing that person financial or reputational harm.
- A person harmed by a violation may sue you for damages under a separate civil action, in addition to criminal prosecution.
- This does not reach an interactive computer service displaying another party's content, a bona fide news report that discloses the deepfake's questionable authenticity, a paid political communication that keeps its sponsor's own disclaimer, or satire or parody not reliant on AI impersonation.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
RSA 638:26-a, II makes fraudulent use of a deepfake a class B felony, and paragraph III makes a resulting wrongful arrest a separate class B felony. New Hampshire's general felony fine cap under RSA 651:2, IV(a) is $4,000 for an individual and $100,000 for a corporation or unincorporated association, or up to double the defendant's gain from the offense in lieu of that cap.
Penalty structure
Individual cap under the general felony fine schedule, RSA 651:2, IV(a); a corporation or unincorporated association is capped at $100,000 instead, and the court may substitute a fine of up to double the defendant's gain from the offense in lieu of either cap.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- 6 September 2026
- Currency
- USD
- Fixed cap
- 4,000
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
A person is guilty of a class B felony under RSA 638:26-a if the person knowingly creates, distributes, or presents a deepfake, a video, audio, or other media digitally altered so an identifiable individual appears to be someone else or to say or do something they never said or did, for the purpose of embarrassing, harassing, entrapping, defaming, extorting, or otherwise causing that person financial or reputational harm.
A separate civil action under RSA 507:8-j lets the depicted person sue for damages on the same conduct. Both sections exempt an interactive computer service displaying another party's content, a bona fide news report that flags the deepfake's questionable authenticity, a paid political communication that preserves its sponsor's disclaimer, and satire or parody not reliant on AI impersonation.
When LexLint raises it
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