State legislatures across the United States have enacted 58 bills regulating artificial intelligence deepfakes so far in 2026, according to a report released by Ballotpedia. The figure represents a slight drop from the 64 deepfake-related bills passed by the same date in 2025.

Focus on Sexually Explicit and Political Content

Despite the slight decrease in overall bill volume, state-level regulations have expanded total nationwide coverage in key areas, particularly surrounding sexually explicit content and political campaign materials. As of July 23, 2026, the number of states with statutes addressing sexually explicit deepfakes reached 48, up from 46 at the start of the year.

These laws target the nonconsensual creation and distribution of adult intimate media as well as computer-generated child sexual abuse material, with 36 states currently maintaining laws that cover both categories. Meanwhile, 33 states now maintain laws regulating political deepfakes, up from 28 in January.

Legal Challenges and Partisan Breakdown

Legal challenges to these measures remain ongoing; a U.S. district judge struck down California’s political deepfake regulation in 2025, a decision the state has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The report highlights distinct trends in legislative sponsorships and topic focus for 2026, with bipartisan coalitions sponsoring 27 of the enacted measures, while 16 were sponsored solely by Democrats and 9 by Republicans.

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.