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House approves criminal penalty for unauthorized use of identity in advertising
Summary
Senate Bill 60 criminalizes certain uses of another person’s identity in advertising without consent, elevating unauthorized use to a Class B misdemeanor and allowing courts to order retractions; members debated scope for campaign materials and the law’s timing.
Senate Bill 60, the Abuse of Personal Identity Amendments, passed the House after floor debate about scope and practical application. Sponsor Representative Swallow told members the bill does two things: it makes knowingly using a person’s identity in advertising without consent a Class B misdemeanor, and it authorizes a court, upon conviction, to require an apology or retraction within 30 days sized to match the advertisement.
Members pressed on the boundaries of the bill. Representative Jones asked whether a campaign brochure with a legislator’s photograph would be covered; Swallow answered that the statute applies when an image is used to imply endorsement (for example, if the ad states Representative Jones "supports" the product), and not every group photo would be prosecutable. Questions also probed the affirmative defense language and how reasonable belief of consent would be evaluated; Swallow explained the defense requires the person charged to show a reasonable‑person belief that consent existed.
After questions, the House closed debate and approved SB60 with 67 yes votes and 3 no votes. Sponsors said the measure is intended to provide a remedy where likenesses are used in ads that falsely imply endorsement and to require corrective advertising where a court finds a violation.
Next steps: SB60 was signed by the Speaker and entered onto the House Journal and will be returned to the Senate.
