HB 26-1049

House Bill 26-1049, which has been signed into law in Colorado, makes it illegal to use someone's unique physical identifiers like fingerprints or facial features without their permission for things like advertisements or deepfake videos. Violating this law can lead to felony charges, and if the violation is intended to harm someone, it becomes a more serious felony. Victims of such violations can sue for damages and legal fees. This means that businesses and individuals must now get explicit consent before using anyone's biometric data in digital media or advertisements.

Official Summary

The bill criminalizes the use of an individual's fingerprint, voiceprint, retina, iris, or facial map (personally identifying feature) in an advertisement, deepfake, image, video, voice recording, or other digital depiction, without the individual's permission (unlawful use of a personally identifying feature). Unlawful use of a personally identifying feature is a class 5 felony, and unlawful use of a personally identifying feature with the intent to harm the individual or another individual is a class 4 felony.An individual harmed by an unlawful use of a personally identifying feature may bring a civil cause of action and collect damages and reasonable attorney fees.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Topics

Votes