Indiana · verified October 5, 2026

Indiana AI laws for political campaigns

Disclosure required1 AI call rule2 political AI laws

Any Indiana campaign communication that uses AI-generated or digitally altered media of a candidate must carry the exact disclaimer "Elements of this media have been digitally altered or artificially generated.", and Indiana bans robocalls with recorded messages (political ones included) unless the voter consented first or a live operator gets consent before the message plays.

Political ad AI law
Disclosure
When it applies
Anytime
Required AI disclaimer
Exact wording set by law
Criminal penalty
No, civil only
Candidate can sue
Yes
AI voice calls
1 state rule + TCPA

Political ads and deepfakes

Does Indiana regulate AI in political ads?

Yes. Since March 2024, if a campaign communication (anything advocating for or against a clearly identified candidate, or soliciting a contribution) includes fabricated media depicting a candidate, the person who paid for it must add a specific disclaimer. Fabricated media covers altered audio, images, or video that a reasonable person could not tell were altered, lifelike AI imitations of a real person made without consent, and media showing an AI-generated person. There is no time window and no criminal penalty: the depicted candidate can sue the payer, the sponsor, and anyone who knowingly or recklessly stripped the disclaimer, for damages, an injunction, and attorney fees. Key law (HB 1133 (2024), House Enrolled Act 1133, P.L. 81-2024, Ind. Code 3-9-8-1 to 3-9-8-6 (disclaimer at 3-9-8-5)).

HB 1133 (2024), House Enrolled Act 1133, P.L. 81-2024: Use of Digitally Altered Media in Elections

In effect

Required disclaimer, word for word

“Elements of this media have been digitally altered or artificially generated.”
Citation
Ind. Code 3-9-8-1 to 3-9-8-6 (disclaimer at 3-9-8-5)
Enacted
March 12, 2024
Effective
March 12, 2024
When it applies
anytime
Media covered
recorded audio, recorded images, and recorded video that are altered or artificially generated (fabricated media), including AI-generated persons who are not recognizable real people
Who it covers
the person that paid for the campaign communication must include the disclaimer; liability also reaches the sponsor and any disseminator who knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly altered or removed the disclaimer
Rule
disclosure required
Intent required
None for the payer (strict disclosure duty). Disseminators are liable only if they knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly removed or altered a disclaimer that was included.
Disclaimer format
Separate from the regular paid-for-by disclaimer. Print: must meet the print disclaimer rules of IC 3-9-3-2.5(e). Audio: read in every language used in the communication, at an understandable speed and pitch, at a volume no lower than the loudest audio in the ad, at the beginning and end, and every two minutes if longer than two minutes. Video: printed per IC 3-9-3-2.5(e) and displayed continuously for the entire communication.
Civil penalty
Actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees for the depicted candidate
Who can sue
Yes. A candidate (including any current elected federal, state, school board, or local officeholder) depicted in fabricated media without the disclaimer may sue the payer, the sponsor, and a disseminator who knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly removed the disclaimer. Plaintiff must prove by clear and convincing evidence that they were depicted in fabricated media. Courts must expedite the case.
Injunction available
Yes
Court challenges
No court challenge found. In 2024, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jennifer McCormick accused Mike Braun's campaign of running a digitally altered image without the disclaimer, but no lawsuit under IC 3-9-8 was found.
Notes
Applies to communications about candidates only, not ballot measures. The statute has no express exemptions for news media, satire, or parody. Effective upon passage under an emergency clause. Disclaimer text and specs confirmed against the enrolled act (HEA 1133, enrolled Senate version). "Campaign communication" also covers any communication whose purpose is to injure a candidate or influence an election, and any solicitation of contributions.

Read the official text

Bills to watch

  • None pending: Indiana's 2026 short session adjourned in late February 2026 with no change to IC 3-9-8. Public Citizen lists 2024 bills SB 7, HB 1228, and HB 1225 as failed.. No election AI bills pending until the 2027 session

For campaigns and consultants

Before an AI ad runs in Indiana

  • If any image, audio, or video of a candidate in your ad or fundraising appeal is AI-generated or materially altered, add the exact disclaimer "Elements of this media have been digitally altered or artificially generated." in addition to your paid-for-by line.
  • In audio ads and recorded calls, read the disclaimer at the start and end (and every two minutes on long pieces) at a volume no lower than the loudest part of the audio.
  • In video, keep the disclaimer on screen the whole time.
  • The rule also covers AI-generated people who are not real, if the media depicts a candidate. When in doubt, disclose.
  • Do not run robocalls with recorded or AI voices to Indiana numbers unless the voter consented in advance or a live person gets consent at the start of the call. Political calls are not exempt.

AI voice calls and texts

Can a campaign use AI voice calls in Indiana?

Indiana's Automatic Dialing Machine law bans using an automatic dialing-announcing device to deliver a recorded message unless the person called already requested or consented to it, or a live operator first gets the person's consent before the message plays. There is no political exemption, and the Seventh Circuit upheld the law as applied to political robocalls (Patriotic Veterans v. Indiana, 2017). An AI voice agent that dials automatically and plays a synthetic voice is very likely covered. Indiana has no AI-specific voice disclosure law.

Automatic Dialing Machines statute: Regulation of Automatic Dialing Machines

In effect
Citation
Ind. Code 24-5-14 (core rule at 24-5-14-5)
When it applies
anytime
Media covered
recorded messages delivered by an automatic dialing-announcing device
Who it covers
any caller, including political campaigns, PACs, and advocacy groups
Rule
ban
Disclaimer format
Allowed only if (1) the subscriber knowingly or voluntarily requested, consented to, permitted, or authorized the message, or (2) the message is immediately preceded by a live operator who obtains the subscriber's consent before the message is delivered.
Exemptions
  • messages from school districts to students, parents, or employees
  • messages to subscribers with an existing business or personal relationship
  • messages advising employees of work schedules
Injunction available
Yes
Court challenges
Patriotic Veterans, Inc. v. Indiana (7th Cir. 2013, 736 F.3d 1041) held the law is not preempted by the federal TCPA for interstate political calls; Patriotic Veterans v. Zoeller (7th Cir. 2017) upheld it against a First Amendment challenge as a content-neutral restriction that applies to political calls.
Notes
The Attorney General has enforced this against political robocallers. Penalty amounts were not confirmed from the statute text.

Read the official text

Federal floor everywhere: AI-generated voices are “artificial” voices under the TCPA (FCC, February 2024), so they need prior express consent to cell phones and must identify the caller at the start of the call. AI robocall laws in every state

Federal layer

Federal rules that apply in Indiana

At the federal level, the binding rules that hit AI in campaigns today are the TCPA and FCC robocall rules, not any AI-specific election law. Since February 2024 the FCC treats AI-generated voices as "artificial" voices, so AI voice calls to cell phones need prior express consent (political calls included), AI or prerecorded political calls to landlines are limited to three per 30 days without consent, and every such message must identify the caller, give a callback number and offer an opt-out. The FEC says its existing fraudulent misrepresentation ban covers AI, but it has had no quorum since April 2025 and cannot enforce. Proposed FCC rules on AI disclosure in broadcast political ads and in AI calls were never adopted, and no federal AI political ad disclaimer bill has passed. Federal efforts to preempt state AI laws (a 2025 moratorium the Senate struck 99 to 1, and Executive Order 14365) have not displaced any state election or robocall law as of October 2026.

FCC, FEC and the federal preemption fight

How Indiana compares

25 other jurisdictions share Indiana's status (disclosure):

Alabama · Arizona · Colorado · Delaware · Florida · Idaho · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Michigan · Mississippi · Montana · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Mexico · New York · North Dakota · Oregon · Rhode Island · South Dakota · Tennessee · Utah · Vermont · Washington · Wisconsin

See Indiana on the mapPolitical deepfake laws, all statesDisclaimer generatorIndiana 2026 elections

HyperPhonebank

Voter contact that clears Indiana's AI rules before the first dial.

Live professional callers and AI voice programs for voter ID, persuasion, ballot chase and GOTV, scripted to the disclosure and consent rules on this page, with every call graded and a real time dashboard.

Frequently asked questions

Does Indiana regulate AI in political ads?

Yes. Since March 2024, if a campaign communication (anything advocating for or against a clearly identified candidate, or soliciting a contribution) includes fabricated media depicting a candidate, the person who paid for it must add a specific disclaimer. Fabricated media covers altered audio, images, or video that a reasonable person could not tell were altered, lifelike AI imitations of a real person made without consent, and media showing an AI-generated person. There is no time window and no criminal penalty: the depicted candidate can sue the payer, the sponsor, and anyone who knowingly or recklessly stripped the disclaimer, for damages, an injunction, and attorney fees. Key law (HB 1133 (2024), House Enrolled Act 1133, P.L. 81-2024, Ind. Code 3-9-8-1 to 3-9-8-6 (disclaimer at 3-9-8-5)).

What AI disclaimer does Indiana require on political ads?

HB 1133 (2024), House Enrolled Act 1133, P.L. 81-2024, Ind. Code 3-9-8-1 to 3-9-8-6 (disclaimer at 3-9-8-5) requires: "Elements of this media have been digitally altered or artificially generated." Format: Separate from the regular paid-for-by disclaimer. Print: must meet the print disclaimer rules of IC 3-9-3-2.5(e). Audio: read in every language used in the communication, at an understandable speed and pitch, at a volume no lower than the loudest audio in the ad, at the beginning and end, and every two minutes if longer than two minutes. Video: printed per IC 3-9-3-2.5(e) and displayed continuously for the entire communication.

What is the penalty for a deceptive political deepfake in Indiana?

Civil: Actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees for the depicted candidate. Private lawsuits: Yes. A candidate (including any current elected federal, state, school board, or local officeholder) depicted in fabricated media without the disclaimer may sue the payer, the sponsor, and a disseminator who knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly removed the disclaimer. Plaintiff must prove by clear and convincing evidence that they were depicted in fabricated media. Courts must expedite the case.

When does the Indiana political deepfake law apply?

anytime. It covers recorded audio, recorded images, and recorded video that are altered or artificially generated (fabricated media), including AI-generated persons who are not recognizable real people.

Can a campaign use an AI voice for robocalls in Indiana?

Indiana's Automatic Dialing Machine law bans using an automatic dialing-announcing device to deliver a recorded message unless the person called already requested or consented to it, or a live operator first gets the person's consent before the message plays. There is no political exemption, and the Seventh Circuit upheld the law as applied to political robocalls (Patriotic Veterans v. Indiana, 2017). An AI voice agent that dials automatically and plays a synthetic voice is very likely covered. Indiana has no AI-specific voice disclosure law. Under federal law, the FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices are "artificial" voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, so prerecorded or AI voice calls to cell phones need prior express consent, and every such call must identify the caller at the start.

How many political AI laws does Indiana have?

This tracker counts 2 Indiana AI laws touching politics and elections as of October 5, 2026: 1 on elections, 1 on AI or artificial voice calls.

Are there pending AI election bills in Indiana?

None pending (Indiana's 2026 short session adjourned in late February 2026 with no change to IC 3-9-8. Public Citizen lists 2024 bills SB 7, HB 1228, and HB 1225 as failed.): No election AI bills pending until the 2027 session.

Sources

Verified October 5, 2026 against official legislature and statute pages. This page summarizes Indiana law for campaigns and is not legal advice.