KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

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HB26-1049 • 2026

Prohibit Use of Personally Identifying Feature

The bill criminalizes the use of an individual's fingerprint, voiceprint, retina, iris, or facial map (personally identifying feature) in an advertisement, deepfake, image, video, voice recording, or

Crime
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Rep. S. Bottoms, Sen. M. Baisley
Last action
2026-02-12
Official status
House Committee on State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Postpone Indefinitely
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary provided does not include specific exemptions beyond those listed in the text, such as news broadcasts and criticism. Additional details about other exemptions may be found in the full bill text but are not included here due to lack of supporting information from the given sources.

Prohibiting Use of Personally Identifying Features Without Permission

This bill makes it illegal to use someone's fingerprint, voiceprint, retina scan, iris image, or facial map in advertisements, deepfakes, images, videos, or other digital content without their permission. It also sets penalties and allows harmed individuals to sue for damages.

What This Bill Does

  • Makes using a person’s fingerprint, voiceprint, retina scan, iris image, or facial map in ads, deepfakes, images, videos, or other digital content illegal if done without the person's permission.
  • Classifies unauthorized use as a class 5 felony and intentional harmful use as a class 4 felony.
  • Allows individuals harmed by this misuse to sue for damages and attorney fees.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Individuals whose personally identifying features are used without permission in digital content or advertisements.
  • People who create or distribute ads, deepfakes, images, videos, or other digital depictions that use someone's personal information without consent.

Terms To Know

Personally Identifying Feature
A unique physical characteristic of an individual such as a fingerprint, voiceprint, retina scan, iris image, or facial map.
Deepfake
A video that has been manipulated to show someone doing or saying something they did not actually do or say.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify the effective date.
  • Certain activities, such as news broadcasts and criticism, are exempt from this law.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

L.003

HOU State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs

Passed [*]

Plain English: The amendment changes the penalty for using someone's personally identifying feature without permission from a specific type of harm to a general intent to harm.

  • Removes the requirement that the use of a personally identifying feature must cause 'legally cognizable harm' to be considered unlawful.
  • Changes the offense to a Class 1 misdemeanor if someone uses another person's fingerprint, voiceprint, retina, iris, or facial map without permission with the intent to harm them.
  • The amendment text does not specify what constitutes 'intentionally harm' and how it will be interpreted by courts.
  • It is unclear if this change broadens or narrows the scope of prohibited actions compared to the original bill.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-12 House

    House Committee on State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Postpone Indefinitely

  2. 2026-02-02 House

    House Committee on State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only

  3. 2026-01-14 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs

Official Summary Text

The bill criminalizes the use of an individual's fingerprint, voiceprint, retina, iris, or facial map (personally identifying feature) in an advertisement, deepfake, image, video, voice recording, or other digital depiction, without the individual's permission (unlawful use of a personally identifying feature). Unlawful use of a personally identifying feature is a class 5 felony, and unlawful use of a personally identifying feature with the intent to harm the individual or another individual is a class 4 felony.
An individual harmed by an unlawful use of a personally identifying feature may bring a civil cause of action and collect damages and reasonable attorney fees.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Second Regular Session
Seventy-fifth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
INTRODUCED

LLS NO. 26-0261.01 Owen Hatch x2698 HOUSE BILL 26-1049
House Committees Senate Committees
State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs
A BILL FOR AN ACT
CONCERNING PROHIBITING THE USE OF ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL 'S101
PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING FEATURE WITHOUT PERMISSION.102
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov.)
The bill criminalizes the use of an individual's fingerprint,
voiceprint, retina, iris, or facial map (personally identifying feature) in an
advertisement, deepfake, image, video, voice recording, or other digital
depiction, without the individual's permission (unlawful use of a
personally identifying feature). Unlawful use of a personally identifying
feature is a class 5 felony, and unlawful use of a personally identifying
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Bottoms,
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Baisley,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law.
feature with the intent to harm the individual or another individual is a
class 4 felony.
An individual harmed by an unlawful use of a personally
identifying feature may bring a civil cause of action and collect damages
and reasonable attorney fees.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 18-5-906 as2
follows:3
18-5-906. Unlawful use of personally identifying features -4
civil action - exceptions - definitions.5
(1) AS USED IN THIS SECTION, UNLESS THE CONTEXT OTHERWISE6
REQUIRES:7
(a) "HARM" MEANS A PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, OR FINANCIAL HARM.8
(b) "PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING FEATURE" MEANS AN INDIVIDUAL'S:9
(I) FINGERPRINT;10
(II) VOICEPRINT;11
(III) SCAN OR RECORD OF THEIR EYE RETINA OR IRIS; AND12
(IV) FACIAL MAP, FACIAL GEOMETRY, OR FACIAL TEMPLATE.13
(c) "USE" MEANS TO TAKE, CAPTURE, CREATE, INCLUDE IN, OR BE14
A PART OF:15
(I) AN ADVERTISEMENT;16
(II) A DEEPFAKE, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 1-46-102;17
(III) AN IMAGE;18
(IV) A VIDEO;19
(V) A VOICE RECORDING; OR20
(VI) ANY OTHER DIGITAL DEPICTION.21
(2) A PERSON COMMITS UNLAWFUL USE OF A PERSONALLY22
IDENTIFYING FEATURE IF THE PERSON:23
HB26-1049-2-
(a) USES A PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING FEATURE OF AN INDIVIDUAL1
WITHOUT PERMISSION; OR2
(b) USES A PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING FEATURE OF AN INDIVIDUAL3
WITHOUT PERMISSION TO INTENTIONALLY HARM THE INDIVIDUAL WHOSE4
PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING FEATURE IS UNLAWFULLY USED.5
(3) (a) UNLAWFUL USE OF A PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING FEATURE6
IN VIOLATION OF SUBSECTION (2)(a) OF THIS SECTION IS A CLASS 5 FELONY.7
(b) UNLAWFUL USE OF A PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING FEATURE IN8
VIOLATION OF SUBSECTION (2)(b) OF THIS SECTION IS A CLASS 4 FELONY.9
(4) AN INDIVIDUAL HARMED IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION MAY10
BRING A CIVIL ACTION FOR DAMAGES AND REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES.11
UNLAWFUL USE PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION (2)(a) OF THIS SECTION IS A12
LEGALLY COGNIZABLE HARM . AN INDIVIDUAL MAY INCLUDE IN THEIR13
CIVIL ACTION A CLAIM FOR ANY AMOUNT OF DAMAGES.14
(5) (a) THIS SECTION DOES NOT APPLY TO AN IMAGE, VIDEO, VOICE15
RECORDING, OR OTHER DIGITAL DEPICTION DISTRIBUTED TO THE PUBLIC IN16
CONNECTION WITH A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OR TAKEN BY A PERSON IN17
THE ACT OF REPORTING OR DOCUMENTING CRIMINAL CONDUCT.18
(b) THIS SECTION DOES NOT APPLY TO A CITY, COUNTY, CITY AND19
COUNTY, OR STATE GOVERNMENT , OR AN EMPLOYEE THEREOF , IN20
CONNECTION WITH AN OFFICIAL ACT OF THE CITY , COUNTY , CITY AND21
COUNTY, OR STATE GOVERNMENT , OR AN EMPLOYEE THEREOF IN THE22
PERFORMANCE OF THEIR OFFICIAL DUTIES.23
(c) THIS SECTION DOES NOT APPLY:24
(I) IN CONNECTION WITH ANY NEWS, PUBLIC AFFAIRS, OR SPORTS25
BROADCAST OR ACCOUNT;26
(II) FOR THE PURPOSES OF COMMENT , CRITICISM, SCHOLARSHIP,27
HB26-1049-3-
SATIRE, OR PARODY;1
(III) T O A REPRESENTATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL WHOSE2
PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING FEATURE IS BEING USED AS THE INDIVIDUAL'S3
SELF IN AN AUDIOVISUAL WORK, AS DEFINED PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SEC.4
101, UNLESS THE AUDIOVISUAL WORK CONTAINING THE USE IS INTENDED5
TO CREATE, AND DOES CREATE, THE FALSE IMPRESSION THAT THE WORK IS6
AN AUTHENTIC RECORDING IN WHICH THE INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPATED;7
(IV) T O A FLEETING OR INCIDENTAL USE OF A PERSONALLY8
IDENTIFYING FEATURE;9
(V) TO AN ADVERTISEMENT OR COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR10
AN AUDIOVISUAL WORK DESCRIBED IN THIS SUBSECTION (5)(c); AND11
(VI) TO ANY OTHER ACTIVITY PROTECTED PURSUANT TO THE FIRST12
AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION.13
SECTION 2. Applicability. This act applies to offenses14
committed on or after the effective date of this act.15
SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,16
determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate17
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for18
the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state19
institutions.20
HB26-1049-4-