SB 413 Montana Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Criminalize disclosure of certain explicit AI-generated media

Senate Bill 413 creates the crime of "disclosing explicit synthetic media," also known as deepfakes, directly affecting individuals who create or share AI-generated content and protecting those falsely depicted. The bill makes it an offense to knowingly share synthetic media portraying an identifiable person engaged in sexual conduct or depicting intimate body parts without their consent, if it would cause substantial emotional distress. It also criminalizes disclosing such media with intent to harass or threaten, or possessing and threatening to disclose it for extortion. Penalties include fines and jail time, with increased penalties for repeat offenses or if the depicted person is under 18, though exceptions exist for reporting crimes, research, or legal proceedings.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Feb 21, 2025 Signed May 16, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 8 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB0413_X(3).pdf SB0413_X(4).pdf · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill text was updated to remove extra blank lines and correct a formatting error in the section numbering, changing the reference from '(5)(5)' to '(5)'. These are technical edits that improve readability and ensure the legal definitions are cited correctly without altering the actual laws or penalties.
TECHNICAL

Corrected a duplicate numbering error in the definitions section where '(5)(5)' was changed to '(5)'.

Removed unnecessary blank lines throughout the document to improve formatting consistency.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 3, 2025 · House Apr 24, 2025

How they voted

500
Passed
Total votes 50
Apr 3, 2025
D Democratic18
18 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican32
32 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
48
Key actions
11
Committee
9
Amendments
1
May 13, 2025
Signed into law
(S) Signed by Governor
upper
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
May 2, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Apr 25, 2025
Introduced
(H) Returned to Senate with Amendments
lower
Apr 24, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (99-0-1)
house
Apr 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Judiciary
lower
Apr 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Judiciary
lower
Apr 4, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (50-0)
senate
Apr 2, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Finance and Claims
upper
Apr 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Finance and Claims
upper
Mar 6, 2025
Committee
(S) Rereferred to Committee - (S) Finance and Claims
upper
Feb 28, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Judiciary
upper
Feb 28, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Judiciary
upper
Feb 24, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary
upper
Feb 21, 2025
Introduced
(S) Introduced
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Laura Smith
Laura Smith
DDemocratic
MT
40