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SB 41 South Dakota Senate · 2026 Regular Session

revise a provision related to criminal invasions of privacy, prohibit the creation and distribution of digitally fabricated material of an identifiable individual, and provide penalties therefor.

SB 41 revises South Dakota's criminal invasion of privacy law to prohibit creating, distributing, or selling digitally manipulated images or videos that falsely depict an identifiable person as nude or engaged in sexual acts. It specifically targets content that appears authentic to an ordinary person but was altered to misrepresent the individual. The law defines "digitally fabricated material" as manipulated images, videos, or depictions that falsely show an identifiable person in states of nudity or sexual activity. Violating this provision is a Class 5 felony, with penalties applying when the manipulated content is shared to harass or embarrass the person depicted.
Issues: ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeProtects civil rights by penalizing non-consensual deepfakes, aligning with criminal justice reform indicators.85% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyProhibits non-consensual deepfakes and digitally fabricated content, directly protecting individuals' privacy through criminal penalties for misuse of technology.95% confidence
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Jan 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Mar 30, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

House Engrossed → Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 9, 2026
MINOR
This bill was finalized as an enrolled act, adding new criminal penalties for creating and sharing digitally fabricated images of identifiable individuals. The changes include formalizing the text into an official enrolled version with proper legislative signatures and certification.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on criminal privacy violations, but the enrolled version adds formal certification and signature blocks required for the bill to become law.
TECHNICAL

Added official enrolled act formatting including certification signatures, dates, and filing information required for the bill to become law.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'digitally fabricated material' and 'identifiable' to clarify what constitutes illegal deepfake content.

ENFORCEMENT

Established specific felony penalties for creating or distributing digitally fabricated material depicting identifiable individuals in states of nudity or engaging in sexual activity.

Floor votes · Senate Jan 16, 2026 · House Mar 3, 2026

How they voted

32–0
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 35
Jan 16, 2026
D Democratic3
3 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican32
29 Yea 3
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
15
Key actions
9
Committee
3
Amendments
1
Mar 30, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor on 2026-03-30 S.J. 548
executive
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 553
lower
Mar 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by the President S.J. 505
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Senate Concurred in amendments , Passed, YEAS 34, NAYS 0 S.J. 478
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
House of Representatives Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 60, NAYS 6 H.J. 491
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Introduced
House of Representatives Motion to amend , Passed, H.J. 490 Amendment 41A
lower
Mar 3, 2026
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (60-6-4)
house
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Judiciary Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 8, NAYS 3 H.J. 31
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Introduced
First read in House and referred to House Judiciary H.J. 53
lower
Jan 16, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 32, NAYS 0 S.J. 61
upper
Jan 15, 2026
Upper · Passed
Judiciary Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 6, NAYS 0 S.J. 1
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
First read in Senate and referred to Senate Judiciary S.J. 13
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.