USA:NEW HAMPSHIRE HB 630

1. Overview

New Hampshire Bill 630(HB 630) was enacted in 2025, and seeks to mitigate the abuse of synthetic media,specifically deepfakes,in the political environment.The legislation requires transparent disclosure for AI-created content and enacts legal resources against misleading deepfakes directed at political personalities.

2. Scope of the law

The objective of this law is to directly target synthetic media sounds, images, or videos altered with AI that intentionally misrepresents political parties, candidates, or election officials 90 days from an election. It is criminalized by the law to post such deepfake content knowingly without transparent disclosure. Defense includes exceptions for fair news reporting, satire and parody, and where the fraudulent nature of the content is unknown to the distributor.

3. Key Provisions

• Prohibited Acts:Distributing a deepfake-made message by synthetic media is illegal under this law.
• Consent Requirements:Whenever deepfake media are disseminated,they shall bear a clear disclosure in the following words:”This image,audio,and video has been generated by digital technology and represents conduct that did not take place”.For audio,it shall be clearly announced at start,end,and  intervals not more than two minutes.
• Exemptions:This law gives exemptions to persons who,without knowledge or reasonable opportunity to become informed ,disseminate such deepfakes,interactive computer service providers as defined in 47 U.S.C section 230 ,and satirical material not dependent on synthetic media.

4. Penalties and Enforcement

• Legal measures:Election officials or candidates shown in fraudulently distorted deepfakes can request injunctions to halt further publications.They can also seek general or special damage from liable parties.
• Penalties:Courts are empowered to allow reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses to successful parties.
• Enforcement Authority :The enforcement of this law is through civil cases brought by targeted individuals.

5. Notable Cases and precedents

There are no reported cases challenging HB 630 in court,to date.Nevertheless law was enacted after incidents such as AI-created robocalls,impersonating political leaders,with the need for such a law.

6. Comparison to Global Standards

Like in the European Union’s AI Act ,HB 630 is consistent with international efforts to control AI content creation.But the emphasis it places on political deepfakes within a particular time frame such as 90 days before an election is more compared to sweeping global laws.

7. Practical Implications

It should be ensured by the content distributor and creator that any AI-based political content requires disclosure to escape legal consequences.Targets of the manipulative deepfakes have well-defined legal remedies,such as damages and injunctions.It should have a mechanism of platforms for marking and correctly labeling synthetic media.

8. Future Outlook

With the accelerating growth of AI technologies, New Hampshire should consider extending HB 630 to cover a wider range of synthetic media beyond the political sphere, to ensure greater protection against deepfake misuse.