COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES: Provides for the crime of "unlawful deepfake" to be added to the definition of power-based violence under the Campus Accountability and Safety Act. (gov sig)

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Regina Barrow and 4 co-sponsors

Adds deepfakes to power-based violence under Campus Accountability and Safety Act, criminalizing coercive or controlling use on campus.

Effective date 5/29/2026.

Purpose and intent

The bill amends the Campus Accountability and Safety Act to expand the definition of “power-based violence” by explicitly including the wrongdoing of creating or using a deepfake.

The aim is to provide a clearer statutory basis to address harms created through deepfake technology in campus settings, particularly as a form of coercion, control, or exploitation.

Key provisions and changes

Amends Louisiana Revised Statutes (R.S. 17:3399.12(5)) to redefine “Power-based violence” within the Campus Accountability and Safety Act.

New or amended component:

Deepfake is defined as any audio or visual media in electronic format (including films or videos) that is created, altered, or digitally manipulated to falsely appear authentic or to replace a person’s likeness with another, such that a reasonable observer would believe it to be a real recording.
Deepfake content is excluded from this definition if it falls into political, public interest, or newsworthy value (including commentary, criticism, satire, or parody) or if there is a clear disclosure visible throughout the recording indicating that the audio/visual media is not a real event.

The addition broadens the scope of power-based violence to cover the misuse of deepfakes as a form of interpersonal violence intended to control, intimidate, or otherwise harm another person.

The rest of the listed categories within “Power-based violence” remain unchanged (e.g., dating violence, domestic abuse, sexual assault/harassment, stalking/cyberstalking, etc.).

Who/what is affected

Colleges and universities in Louisiana (as governed by the Campus Accountability and Safety Act) will have the expanded definition applied within their administrative and disciplinary processes.

Students, faculty, staff, and other individuals on campus could be affected to the extent deepfake-related acts are committed in the context of power-based violence.

Institutions’ procedures for reporting, investigation, and remedies under the Campus Accountability and Safety Act may now apply to incidents involving deepfakes when used to intimidate, control, or coerce.

Procedural/timeline aspects

Effective date: The act becomes effective upon the governor’s signature or, if not signed, upon expiration of the time allowed for gubernatorial action (i.e., the standard gubernatorial-action timeline).

If vetoed and subsequently approved by the legislature, it would take effect the day after such approval.

This amendment is a targeted amendment to R.S. 17:3399.12(5) and does not appear to create new standalone offenses beyond integrating deepfakes into the existing power-based violence framework.

Practical considerations

The bill relies on the existing enforcement and administrative structure of the Campus Accountability and Safety Act to address deepfake-related power-based violence.

The exclusions for political/public-interest content and visible disclosures are important to avoid unintended criminalization of satirical or clearly labeled deepfake content.

Institutions may need updated training, policy clarifications, and reporting protocols to handle deepfake incidents consistently under the updated definition.

Overall, SB 347 clarifies that deepfake-enabled coercive or controlling conduct on campus can constitute power-based violence under the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, aligning campus safety law with modern digital harms.

Bill