HB5106 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 17992 RLC 31429 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5106

Introduced 2/10/2026, by Rep. Maurice A. West, II

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

720 ILCS 5/26.5-0.1
720 ILCS 5/26.5-3

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person also commits harassment through electronic communications when he or she uses electronic communication to transmit to any person a deepfake with intent to harass. Defines "deepfake".

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by changing Sections 26.5-0.1 and 26.5-3 as follows:

(720 ILCS 5/26.5-0.1)

Sec. 26.5-0.1. Definitions. As used in this Article:

"Deepfake" means an image, audio recording, or video recording of an individual's appearance, conduct, or spoken words that has been created or manipulated with machine learning, natural language processing, or another computational processing technique in a manner to create a realistic but false image, audio, or video that:

(1) appears to a reasonable person to depict a real individual saying or doing something that did not actually occur; or

(2) provides a fundamentally different understanding or impression of an individual's appearance, conduct, or spoken words than the understanding a reasonable person would have from an unaltered, original version of the media.

"Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, writings, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric or photo-optical system. "Electronic communication" includes transmissions through an electronic device including, but not limited to, a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager, which communication includes, but is not limited to, e-mail, instant message, text message, or voice mail.

"Family or household member" includes spouses, former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other persons related by blood or by present or prior marriage, persons who share or formerly shared a common dwelling, persons who have or allegedly share a blood relationship through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or engagement relationship, and persons with disabilities and their personal assistants. For purposes of this Article, neither a casual acquaintanceship nor ordinary fraternization between 2 individuals in business or social contexts shall be deemed to constitute a dating relationship.

"Harass" or "harassing" means knowing conduct which is not necessary to accomplish a purpose that is reasonable under the circumstances, that would cause a reasonable person emotional distress and does cause emotional distress to another.

(Source: P.A. 97-1108, eff. 1-1-13.)

(720 ILCS 5/26.5-3)

Sec. 26.5-3. Harassment through electronic communications.

(a) A person commits harassment through electronic communications when he or she uses electronic communication for any of the following purposes:

(1) Making any comment, request, suggestion or proposal which is obscene with an intent to offend;

(2) Interrupting, with the intent to harass, the telephone service or the electronic communication service of any person;

(3) Transmitting to any person, with the intent to harass and regardless of whether the communication is read in its entirety or at all, any file, document, or other communication which prevents that person from using his or her telephone service or electronic communications device;

(4) Transmitting an electronic communication or knowingly inducing a person to transmit an electronic communication for the purpose of harassing another person who is under 13 years of age, regardless of whether the person under 13 years of age consents to the harassment, if the defendant is at least 16 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense;

(5) Threatening injury to the person or to the property of the person to whom an electronic communication is directed or to any of his or her family or household members; or

(5.5) Transmitting to any person a deepfake with intent to harass; or

(6) Knowingly permitting any electronic communications device to be used for any of the purposes mentioned in this subsection (a).

(b) Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service providers, and providers of information services, including, but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting service providers, are not liable under this Section, except for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or information services used by others in violation of this Section.

(Source: P.A. 97-1108, eff. 1-1-13.)