Crime to nudify an image of another creation

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Bill Lieske

The bill creates the crime of nudification, criminalizing realistic manipulation or creation of intimate-part images of someone without consent, punishable as a felony.

Referred to Judiciary and Public Safety

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Summary of SF 5271 (2025-2026) – Minnesota

Purpose and intent

This bill creates a new criminal offense called “nudification” (codified as Minnesota Statutes, chapter 617, section 617.265).

The central aim is to prohibit the manipulation or generation of images or videos that depict intimate parts of an identifiable person in a way that is realistic enough to be believed as belonging to that person, even if the original image did not include those intimate parts.

Key provisions and changes

Definitions:

“Nudify” means: 1) Altering or generating an image or video to depict an intimate part not present in the original unaltered image or video of an identifiable person; and 2) The altered or generated image/video is so realistic that a reasonable person would believe the intimate part belongs to the identifiable individual.

Criminal penalty:

A person who intentionally nudifies an image or video of another person while knowing or having reason to know that the subject did not consent is guilty of a felony.
Punishment: up to 2 years imprisonment, or a fine of up to $4,000, or both.

Effective date:

The act takes effect on August 1, 2026.
Applies to crimes committed on or after that date.

Who or what would be affected

Individuals who create, alter, or generate nude or intimate-part depictions of identifiable persons without consent, when the depiction is sufficiently realistic to be believed as belonging to that person.

The provision targets both explicit alterations and computer-generated or AI-generated images/videos that convincingly depict intimate parts of someone without consent.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Status: Introduced and referred to Judiciary and Public Safety on May 7, 2026.

The act would apply to offenses committed on or after August 1, 2026.

It adds a new felony offense to Minnesota statutes (chapter 617) with specified penalties.

Additional notes

The bill has a co-sponsor (Bill Lieske).

The text provided indicates standard legislative formatting for a new section (617.265 Nudification) with defined terms, penalties, and an explicit effective date.

No separate civil remedies or non-criminal remedies are specified in the provided text; the focus is strictly on criminalizing nudification with felony penalties.

If you’d like, I can compare this proposal to existing Minnesota laws on image-based abuse or privacy, or summarize potential prosecutorial considerations and defenses that might arise under this new statute.