Missouri one of 3 states without AI deepfake laws. Lawmakers playing catch-up
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Missouri is one of three states without deepfake laws.
- Lawmakers propose criminal charges and civil suits for nonconsensual AI deepfakes.
- Federal posture discourages state rules while Congress lacks comprehensive AI law.
Missouri lawmakers are weighing a slew of bills this year designed to curtail sexual images generated by artificial intelligence as the use of AI explodes across the country.
One bill under consideration is named after one of the world’s most popular celebrities, who, since 2025, has often visited Kansas City. The “Taylor Swift Act,” filed by one Republican lawmaker, would allow people targeted with nonconsensual AI-generated deepfakes to sue for damages.
The use of AI exploded into the mainstream with the release of ChatGPT in 2022, and states across the country have enacted laws to combat deepfakes. Deepfakes are AI-generated photos, videos or audio that are created using a real person’s likeness.
Missouri, however, lags behind and is one of only three states with no laws regulating deepfakes on the books, according to Ballotpedia’s Deepfake Legislation Tracker. Forty-five states have enacted laws specifically on deepfake pornographic images.
Lawmakers have proposed criminalizing AI-generated explicit deepfakes and creating pathways for civil action against the people and companies that generate them.
Sen. Joe Nicola, a Grain Valley Republican, held a bipartisan press conference on Thursday to discuss a bill that creates a criminal charge for generating an intimate deepfake, requires disclosure on political ads using AI-generated content and declares that AI is nonsentient and can’t be granted personhood.
“We currently have no regulation on AI, and we need to put up some guardrails,” Nicola said. “When the image is synthetic, the target didn’t consent, the public doesn’t know it’s fake, and the damage spreads fast.”
In the House, Rep. Wendy Hausman, a St. Peters Republican, introduced “The Taylor Swift Act” allowing people targeted with nonconsensual AI-generated deepfakes to sue for damages.
The bill’s title is inspired by obscene AI-generated images of Swift that went viral in 2024.
“This basically is a gap in the current law. It allows victims to have clear civil remedies whenever they find themselves in a humiliating situation where someone has used their image,” Hausman said at a hearing on Feb. 16.
Obscene AI-generated material isn’t just affecting pop stars; it’s also happening in the Kansas City area. Nicola relayed a story to reporters about a Kansas City woman who was victimized by a person generating nonconsensual pornographic images.
Rep. Melissa Schmidt, an Eldridge Republican, introduced legislation originally from Florida to criminalize the generation of nonconsensual AI-generated images, with additional penalties if the individual is a minor.
States are taking the lead with little guidance from the federal government. Congress hasn’t enacted comprehensive legislation on artificial intelligence, and President Donald Trump discouraged state-level regulation in a Dec. 11 executive order.
The executive order establishes an AI Litigation Task Force in the Justice Department to challenge state laws deemed to be an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce, directs the Department of Commerce to review and flag state laws deemed overly burdensome and conditions broadband infrastructure funding to states that haven’t regulated the technology beyond what the administration deems onerous.
“Even though we’ve had some indication from the federal government that they don’t want states to get involved in states to get involved in, I think we must take a lead in that. Hopefully, we’ll have support from the current administration as well,” Sen. Mike Moon, an Ash Grove Republican, said at a press conference on Thursday.
States have been most proactive in regulating AI-generated pornographic material, but some states have also passed laws regulating AI-generated political communications, consumer protection, regulation of technology companies and intellectual property rights.
This story was originally published February 23, 2026 at 4:45 PM.
