WHAT THIS BILL REGULATES · 1 REQUIREMENT TYPE
How Is This Bill Enforced
Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.
(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "HarmHarm"Harm" means a physical, emotional, or financial harm.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(a)" means a physical, emotional, or financial harmHarm"Harm" means a physical, emotional, or financial harm.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(a). (b) "Personally identifying featurePersonally identifying feature"Personally identifying feature" means an individual's: (I) Fingerprint; (II) Voiceprint; (III) Scan or record of their eye retina or iris; and (IV) Facial map, facial geometry, or facial template.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(b)" means an individual's: (I) Fingerprint; (II) Voiceprint; (III) Scan or record of their eye retina or iris; and (IV) Facial map, facial geometry, or facial template. (c) "UseUse"Use" means to take, capture, create, include in, or be a part of: (I) An advertisement; (II) A deepfake, as defined in section 1-46-102; (III) An image; (IV) A video; (V) A voice recording; or (VI) Any other digital depiction.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(c)" means to take, capture, create, include in, or be a part of: (I) An advertisement; (II) A deepfake, as defined in section 1-46-102; (III) An image; (IV) A video; (V) A voice recording; or (VI) Any other digital depiction.
(2)(a) 1 A person commits unlawful use of a personally identifying featurePersonally identifying feature"Personally identifying feature" means an individual's: (I) Fingerprint; (II) Voiceprint; (III) Scan or record of their eye retina or iris; and (IV) Facial map, facial geometry, or facial template.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(b) if the person usesUse"Use" means to take, capture, create, include in, or be a part of: (I) An advertisement; (II) A deepfake, as defined in section 1-46-102; (III) An image; (IV) A video; (V) A voice recording; or (VI) Any other digital depiction.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(c) a personally identifying feature of an individual without permission.
(2)(b) 2 A person commits unlawful use of a personally identifying featurePersonally identifying feature"Personally identifying feature" means an individual's: (I) Fingerprint; (II) Voiceprint; (III) Scan or record of their eye retina or iris; and (IV) Facial map, facial geometry, or facial template.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(b) if the person usesUse"Use" means to take, capture, create, include in, or be a part of: (I) An advertisement; (II) A deepfake, as defined in section 1-46-102; (III) An image; (IV) A video; (V) A voice recording; or (VI) Any other digital depiction.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(c) a personally identifying feature of an individual without permission to intentionally harmHarm"Harm" means a physical, emotional, or financial harm.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(a) the individual whose personally identifying featurePersonally identifying feature"Personally identifying feature" means an individual's: (I) Fingerprint; (II) Voiceprint; (III) Scan or record of their eye retina or iris; and (IV) Facial map, facial geometry, or facial template.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(b) is unlawfully used.
(3)(a)–(b) Unlawful use of a personally identifying featurePersonally identifying feature"Personally identifying feature" means an individual's: (I) Fingerprint; (II) Voiceprint; (III) Scan or record of their eye retina or iris; and (IV) Facial map, facial geometry, or facial template.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(b) in violation of subsection (2)(a) of this section is a class 5 felony. (b) Unlawful use of a personally identifying featurePersonally identifying feature"Personally identifying feature" means an individual's: (I) Fingerprint; (II) Voiceprint; (III) Scan or record of their eye retina or iris; and (IV) Facial map, facial geometry, or facial template.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(b) in violation of subsection (2)(b) of this section is a class 4 felony.
(4) An individual harmed in violation of this section may bring a civil action for damages and reasonable attorney fees. Unlawful useUse"Use" means to take, capture, create, include in, or be a part of: (I) An advertisement; (II) A deepfake, as defined in section 1-46-102; (III) An image; (IV) A video; (V) A voice recording; or (VI) Any other digital depiction.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(c) pursuant to subsection (2)(a) of this section is a legally cognizable harmHarm"Harm" means a physical, emotional, or financial harm.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(a). An individual may include in their civil action a claim for any amount of damages.
(5)(a)–(c) This section does not apply to an image, video, voice recording, or other digital depiction distributed to the public in connection with a criminal investigation or taken by a person in the act of reporting or documenting criminal conduct. (b) This section does not apply to a city, county, city and county, or state government, or an employee thereof, in connection with an official act of the city, county, city and county, or state government, or an employee thereof in the performance of their official duties. (c) This section does not apply: (I) In connection with any news, public affairs, or sports broadcast or account; (II) For the purposes of comment, criticism, scholarship, satire, or parody; (III) To a representation of the individual whose personally identifying featurePersonally identifying feature"Personally identifying feature" means an individual's: (I) Fingerprint; (II) Voiceprint; (III) Scan or record of their eye retina or iris; and (IV) Facial map, facial geometry, or facial template.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(b) is being used as the individual's self in an audiovisual work, as defined pursuant to 17 U.S.C. sec. 101, unless the audiovisual work containing the useUse"Use" means to take, capture, create, include in, or be a part of: (I) An advertisement; (II) A deepfake, as defined in section 1-46-102; (III) An image; (IV) A video; (V) A voice recording; or (VI) Any other digital depiction.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(c) is intended to create, and does create, the false impression that the work is an authentic recording in which the individual participated; (IV) To a fleeting or incidental use of a personally identifying featurePersonally identifying feature"Personally identifying feature" means an individual's: (I) Fingerprint; (II) Voiceprint; (III) Scan or record of their eye retina or iris; and (IV) Facial map, facial geometry, or facial template.C.R.S. § 18-5-906(1)(b); (V) To an advertisement or commercial announcement for an audiovisual work described in this subsection (5)(c); and (VI) To any other activity protected pursuant to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
This section creates the entire operative framework of the bill. Subsection (1) defines three key terms: harm, personally identifying feature, and use. Subsection (2) establishes two tiers of the criminal offense — unauthorized use without permission (class 5 felony) and unauthorized use with intent to harm (class 4 felony). Subsection (4) creates a private right of action, notably declaring that unauthorized use under (2)(a) is itself a legally cognizable harm, eliminating the need to prove actual damages. Subsection (5) carves out broad exceptions for criminal investigations, government official acts, news/sports/public affairs, commentary/criticism/satire/parody, authentic audiovisual work self-depictions, fleeting or incidental use, and First Amendment-protected activity.
The bill applies to any person — it does not define a specific covered entity type — and covers biometric features used in any digital depiction including deepfakes. The breadth of the prohibition is notable: unlike many state deepfake laws that require deceptive intent or target specific harmful uses, this bill criminalizes any unauthorized use of a personally identifying feature in any digital depiction.