Panel votes to kill House Bill 1320 amid free-speech and scope concerns over deepfakes

The House Judiciary Committee voted to recommend a do-not-pass on House Bill 1320 after members and witnesses raised concerns the bill’s possession-based language would be too broad and risk First Amendment issues.

Representative Wilson expressed worry that the bill’s wording might criminalize mere possession of computer-generated or AI-altered images without harmful distribution or intent, saying he was concerned the bill could "catch all of that." An attorney from the North Dakota Council on Legal Counsel for Indigents testified that the provision appeared too broad and could raise free-speech concerns, according to the transcript.

Representative Olsen moved a do-not-pass recommendation on HB1320; Representative Christiansen seconded. The committee’s roll call was recorded in the transcript as 10 yes, 0 no, and 4 absent, meaning a majority favored killing the bill in committee.

Why it matters: proponents of regulating deepfakes have pressed the legislature to address image- and audio-manipulation that can harm victims or mislead the public; committee members said they did not want to advance a bill that might sweep in nonharmful possession or present constitutional problems. The committee’s discussion also noted overlapping bills (including bills numbered 1351 and 1386 in the transcript) on related topics and proposed forming a subcommittee to reconcile language across measures.

The committee did not adopt substitute language in lieu of killing HB1320. Members discussed consolidating parts of related bills in a subcommittee so the Legislature avoids conflicting statutes on AI-generated images and political deepfakes.

Ending: With the committee recommending a do-not-pass, HB1320 will not advance from this committee unless later revived or amended; members signaled intent to continue work on the subject across related bills.