AI-Generated "Deepfake" Intimate Images: Michigan's 2025 Law

Since August 26, 2025, Michigan has had a law aimed specifically at sexually explicit "deep fakes": the Protection from Intimate Deep Fakes Act, 2025 PA 11, codified at MCL 752.381 to 752.390.^[1] It makes the nonconsensual creation or dissemination of a realistic fake intimate image a crime, and it lets the person depicted sue.^[1][2] The offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year, or a felony punishable by up to 3 years if any listed aggravating factor applies.^[4][5]

If you are in danger, call 911. Michigan's VOICES4 hotline takes calls and texts at 855-864-2374, and RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline is 800-656-HOPE (4673).^[9][10] If the image depicts a person under 18, it can be reported to the CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678.^[11]

This page covers what counts as a deep fake, the elements of the crime, the penalty tiers, the exclusions, the civil action, and how the act fits with other state and federal law.

What is a "deep fake" under the act?

The definition has three parts. A deep fake is a video recording, motion-picture film, sound recording, electronic image, or photograph, or a technological representation of speech or conduct substantially derivative of one, that is not an original recording of an actual occurrence or an original photograph without substantial modification.^[12] In addition, both of the following must apply: it is so realistic that a reasonable person would believe it depicts speech or conduct of a depicted individual, and its production was substantially dependent on technical means rather than the ability of another individual to physically or verbally impersonate the depicted individual.^[12]

Term	Statutory meaning
Depicted individual	An individual in a deep fake who is identifiable by virtue of the person's face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic[13]
Dissemination	Distribution to 1 or more persons, other than the individual depicted, or publication by any publicly available medium[13]
Intimate parts	An individual's genitalia or anus or, if the individual is a female, her nipple[13]
Sexual act	Either sexual contact or sexual penetration, each of which the act defines[13]
Harass	An act that would cause a substantial adverse effect on the safety, security, or privacy of a reasonable person[13]

What does the criminal provision prohibit?

Under MCL 752.388(1), an individual shall not intentionally create or disseminate a deep fake if all of the following apply:^[2]

1. Foreseeable harm. The individual knew or reasonably should have known that the creation, distribution, dissemination, or reproduction of the deep fake would cause physical, emotional, reputational, or economic harm to an individual falsely depicted.^[2]
2. Intimate content. The deep fake realistically depicts the intimate parts of the depicted individual, or the depicted individual engaging in a sexual act.^[2]
3. Identifiability. The depicted individual is identifiable either from the deep fake itself, by the depicted individual or by a reasonable individual viewing or listening to it, or from the personal information displayed in connection with it.^[3]

The verb is "create or disseminate."^[2] That is one difference from Michigan's 2016 statute on authentic images, MCL 750.145e, which is written around dissemination and applies only where the person depicted is 18 or older.^[14][15]

Penalties

Offense	Classification	Maximum
Violation with no aggravating factor	Misdemeanor	1 year, a fine of up to $3,000, or both[4]
Violation with 1 or more aggravating factors	Felony	3 years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both[5]

The six aggravating factors are:^[5]

• the depicted individual suffers financial loss because of the creation or dissemination of the deep fake;^[5]
• the individual creates or disseminates it with intent to profit from the dissemination;^[5]
• the individual maintains an internet website, online service, online application, or mobile application for the purpose of creating or disseminating the deep fake;^[5]
• the individual posts the deep fake on a website;^[5]
• the individual creates or disseminates it with intent to harass, extort, threaten, or cause physical, emotional, reputational, or economic harm to the depicted individual;^[5]
• the individual has previously been convicted of violating subsection (1).^[5]

Any one of the six is enough for the felony.^[5] The companion act, 2025 PA 12, added the felony to the sentencing guidelines as "Dissemination of intimate deep fake with aggravating factors."^[16]

Consent and the statutory exclusions

Consent. It is not a defense that the depicted individual consented to the creation or possession of the deep fake, or to its voluntary private or public transmission, unless the consent is contained in an agreement written in plain language signed knowingly and voluntarily by the depicted individual, and the consent includes a general description of the intimate digital depiction and, if applicable, the audiovisual work into which it will be incorporated.^[17]

Exclusions. The criminal section does not apply if the creation or dissemination:^[18]

• is made for the purpose of a criminal investigation or prosecution that is otherwise lawful;^[18]
• is for the purpose of, or in connection with, the reporting of unlawful conduct;^[18]
• is made in the course of seeking or receiving medical or mental health treatment, and the image is protected from further dissemination;^[18]
• relates to a matter of public interest and serves a lawful public purpose;^[18]
• is made for legal proceedings and is consistent with common practice in civil proceedings, or is protected by a court order that prohibits further dissemination.^[18]

Infrastructure and tools. The section is not to be construed to impose liability, for providing transmission infrastructure or access to content created by another person, on an interactive computer service, a mobile or radio service provider, a telecommunications network or broadband provider, or a provider or developer of a technology used to create a deep fake, if that technology is not designed for, marketed for, or deployed for nonconsensual intimate deep fakes and the provider or developer has prohibited explicit deep fake content in its terms of service.^[19]

The civil lawsuit

The act also creates a private right to sue, separate from any prosecution.

• Who can sue. A depicted individual or a person representing the depicted individual.^[6]
• What has to be shown. That the defendant knew or reasonably should have known the deep fake would cause physical, emotional, reputational, or economic harm, or created or disseminated it in order to harass, extort, threaten, or cause such harm; that it realistically depicts the plaintiff's intimate parts or the plaintiff engaging in a sexual act; and that the plaintiff is identifiable.^[6]
• When the claim arises. The cause of action accrues when the depicted individual discovers that the deep fake has been created or disseminated.^[8]
• Where to file. In the county where the defendant or the plaintiff resides, or the county where the deep fake was produced, reproduced, or stored.^[8]
• Privacy. The court must allow confidential filings to protect the plaintiff's privacy and may let the plaintiff proceed under a pseudonym.^[8]
• What can be recovered. Economic and noneconomic damages, including damages for mental anguish, embarrassment, and humiliation; an amount equal to any profit made from the deep fake; and actual court costs and fees and reasonable attorney fees.^[7]
• Court orders. The court may enter a temporary restraining order or a permanent injunction to prevent further harm, and may award the plaintiff a civil fine of not more than $1,000 per day for violation of that order.^[7]

The civil defenses track the criminal exclusions with one addition: for the public-interest defense, the person must also have clearly identified the item as a deep fake and acted in good faith to prevent its further dissemination.^[20] None of the act's ten sections states its own filing deadline for the civil action.^[21] Civil deadlines generally are discussed in Civil lawsuits.

The civil standard of proof and the differences between the two kinds of case are explained in Criminal case vs. civil case.

How the act fits with other laws

The act says it does not affect the ability to bring a civil action under any other law and does not limit the ability to prosecute a person under any other law.^[22] Statutes that can apply alongside it include:

• Sexual extortion. Intentionally and maliciously threatening to release, exhibit, create, or distribute sexually explicit visual material of another individual in order to compel someone to act against his or her will, with intent to obtain such material or anything else of value, is a felony under MCL 750.213b.^[23] See Sextortion.
• Images that appear to include a child. Michigan's child sexually abusive material statute covers computer-generated images that appear to include a child engaging in a listed sexual act, and its maximums are higher: up to 20 years for production in the base tier.^[24][25][26] See Child sexually abusive material.
• Federal law. The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, approved May 19, 2025, covers knowingly publishing a "digital forgery" of an identifiable individual online in listed circumstances, punishable by up to 2 years where an adult is depicted and up to 3 years where a minor is depicted.^[27][28] Covered platforms must remove a reported nonconsensual intimate image not later than 48 hours after a valid request.^[29]
• Stalking and unlawful posting. Where a fake image is part of a course of harassment, the stalking and unlawful-posting statutes have their own elements.^[30][31] See Online harassment and posting messages in the sister guide.

The tier lists in the Sex Offenders Registration Act identify offenses by section number, and as the text stood on October 4, 2026 none of them names MCL 752.388.^[32] Tier I also includes any other violation that by its nature constitutes a sexual offense against an individual who is a minor, a determination the sentencing court makes for an unlisted offense.^[32][33]

Removal tools and reporting steps are collected in Removing intimate images from the internet. School-related situations are covered in K-12 school discipline and Teen sexting and the law.

What people get wrong

"The deepfake law is 2025 PA 12 and 13." The act itself is 2025 PA 11. PA 12 is the sentencing-guidelines companion.^[1][16]

"Deepfakes are only a misdemeanor." Posting the deep fake on a website, intent to profit, intent to harass or extort, financial loss to the depicted person, running a site or app for the purpose, or a prior conviction each make it a felony.^[5]

"It is not a crime unless it is shared." The prohibition covers intentionally creating as well as disseminating.^[2]

"It is fake, so nobody was harmed and nobody can sue." The act is built on harm to the person falsely depicted and gives that person a civil action.^[2][6]

"Verbal permission is enough." Consent counts only if it is in a signed, plain-language written agreement that describes the depiction.^[17]