UPDATE: March 17 at 5:30 p.m.
The new law sponsored by Kennewick Sen. Matt Boehnke was signed into law on Monday, March 16, by Gov. Bob Ferguson.
The legislation updates Washington’s personality rights law to address the use of artificial intelligence in creating deceptive audio and video, known as “deepfakes.”
The law clarifies that using a person’s forged digital likeness without consent violates their personality rights.
“As technology evolves, so do the risks of having someone’s image or voice used without their permission,” said Boehnke (R-Kennewick) in a release. “This law helps ensure Washingtonians have clear protections when their identity or likeness is misused.”
The bill expands existing protections to include digitally created or altered representations that mimic real people and increases civil penalties for violations. Courts can now order injunctions to stop unauthorized use of a person’s digital likeness.
“Deepfake technology can be used to deceive people and damage someone’s reputation,” Boehnke said. “This legislation updates our laws, so Washingtonians have the tools to protect themselves when their identity is manipulated or exploited.”
The new law will take effect on June 10, 2026.
KENNEWICK, Wash. — As artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances, lawmakers are tackling the legal and ethical challenges it presents. AI’s abilities to draft documents, generate artwork and create realistic images and videos have sparked concerns about misuse.
A big concern is how easy AI can produce deep fakes that negatively portray people. It only takes a few clicks of a button to make almost anything.
Kennewick Senator Matt Boehnke is sponsoring Senate Bill 5886, which aims to protect personal rights and regulate AI-created content used without consent.
“Your name, your image, your likeness, and your voice are still yours. And that nobody can manipulate those without your intent,” Boehnke said.
The bill focuses on the content in an AI-created video rather than the tools used to create it. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate in early February and is now in the House. It has been referred to Rules 2 Review.
“We’re trying to align some of the advancements with technology and AI to current law, and just updating 1 or 2 tweaks within the law,” Boehnke said. “You can still make fun of your friends and enjoy some of that humor that you should do, but that at one end tips that scale and it goes over the line.”
David Makin, a criminology professor at Washington State University, highlighted the challenges lawmakers face in regulating this rapidly evolving technology.
“It is trying to make really big changes in a sector that has been evolving so rapidly that we don’t even know how to properly regulate it yet,” Makin said. “In some of the laws we have is simply outdated, right. The law was not made at the time that we had or could have thought of the technological capabilities that we have today.”
Find more information on Senate Bill 5886 here.
ORIGINAL COVERAGE: February 27 at 9:40 p.m.
