Skip to content

Session Expired

Your session has expired. Please sign in again to continue where you left off.

Sign In Again

CO HB 1049: Prohibit Use of Personally Identifying Feature

Dead/Failed Colorado

Last verified Oct 11, 2026 · official bill text

HB 1049 · where it stands

This bill did not become law (dead/failed) · last action Feb 12, 2026.

What do these statuses mean?
Introduced
Filed in the legislature; may be waiting for a committee hearing.
Passed a chamber
Approved by one or both chambers; awaiting further action.
Enacted
Signed into law, or became law without a signature or over a veto.
Effective date
The date the law says it takes effect. Once it has passed, the page shows "Effective" and the date. A court order can still block a law; if we know of one, the summary says so.
Dead / vetoed
Vetoed, failed, or the session ended without action.

In one paragraph

Colorado's HB26-1049 would have made it a crime to use another person's fingerprint, voiceprint, retina or iris scan, or facial map in an advertisement, deepfake, image, video, voice recording, or other digital depiction without permission: a class 5 felony, or a class 4 felony if done to intentionally harm that person. A harmed person could sue for damages and attorney fees. The House committee postponed it indefinitely February 12, 2026; it is dead.

Plain-English summary, written with AI assistance. The official text controls.

What it means for business

None: the bill did not pass. Had it passed, advertisers, media producers, and AI or deepfake creators using someone's biometric features without permission, outside the listed exceptions, could have faced felony charges and lawsuits.

Key provisions

  1. New C.R.S. 18-5-906 would define a personally identifying feature as a fingerprint, voiceprint, retina or iris scan or record, or facial map, geometry, or template
  2. "Use" would mean taking, capturing, creating, or including the feature in an advertisement, a deepfake (as defined in Section 1-46-102), image, video, voice recording, or other digital depiction
  3. Using the feature without permission would be a class 5 felony; using it without permission to intentionally harm the person would be a class 4 felony
  4. A harmed individual could bring a civil action for damages and reasonable attorney fees; unlawful use without permission would itself be a legally cognizable harm
  5. Exceptions include criminal-investigation and reporting material, government acts in official duties, news, comment, satire or parody, fleeting use, and First Amendment-protected activity
  6. Status: committee adopted amendment L.003 and then failed 2-9 to refer to the Committee of the Whole; postponed indefinitely 9-2 on February 12, 2026. The amendment was never incorporated

Latest legislative action

Feb 12, 2026. House Committee on State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Postpone Indefinitely

Sponsors

NameRole
Sponsor
Sponsor

Topics and industries

Related topics

AI Deepfakes

Affected industries

MediaTechnology

This page is general information, not legal advice. Summaries are AI-assisted and may contain errors; read the statute for the controlling text and talk to a lawyer about your situation. Full disclaimer · Report an error

Related AI laws in Colorado

All Colorado bills →
SB25-288 Concerning preventing certain disclosures of intimate depictions, and, in connec SB24-011 Online-Facilitated Misconduct & Remote Tracking HB1147 Candidate Election Deepfake Disclosures HB26-1326 Sunset Public Utilities Commission SB21-169 Concerning protecting consumers from unfair discrimination in insurance practice HB 1195 Psychotherapy Artificial Intelligence Restrictions

Same topic in other states

Montana HB513 Revise laws related to use of name, voice, and likeness of individuals and penal New Hampshire HB1432 Relative to prohibiting certain uses of deepfakes and creating a private claim o Utah SB0256 Identity Protection Modifications Rhode Island S3338 Relating to Criminal Offenses -- Impersonation and Identity Fraud Tennessee HB2091 AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 14, Part 1 and Title New York S5959 Establishes the right of publicity and provides for a private right of action fo