JACKSON, Miss.—A bill that would give Mississippians legal protections over their name, likeness and voice has advanced in the Legislature after clearing key Senate committees, moving one step closer to becoming law as artificial intelligence makes it easier to digitally replicate people without their consent.
Senate Bill 2046 passed the Universities and Colleges committee Monday ahead of the crossover deadline, allowing the measure to move forward after similar proposals stalled in previous legislative sessions. The bill would establish a property right over an individual’s identity, giving people the ability to sue if their name, image or voice is digitally altered or used without permission.
Work on Mississippi’s AI identity legislation began in December 2023, but earlier versions failed to reach the governor’s desk during the 2024 and 2025 sessions. Supporters say the bill’s progress this year reflects clearer language, broader bipartisan support and growing urgency as AI-generated content becomes more realistic and widespread.
Sen. Bradford Blackmon, a Democrat who co-sponsored the bipartisan bill, said the goal is to prevent harm before it spreads.
“When people see something, it’s hard to get them to unsee it,” Blackmon said. “Once it gets embedded in someone’s mind, it doesn’t matter how many times you tell somebody that’s not real—and you can’t make it to everyone that’s seen it to tell them it’s not real—so you got to try to stop it before someone even does it.”
What the Bill Would Do
Under SB 2046, individuals whose name, likeness or voice is misused could seek a court injunction requiring the content to be taken down and pursue monetary damages. If the person who posted the content earned less than $5,000, damages would be capped at that amount. If profits exceeded $5,000, the individual could recover whatever was earned.
The bill relies on civil enforcement rather than criminal penalties, meaning it would be up to the affected person to pursue legal action.
“That’s what laws are—they’re supposed to be preventative,” Blackmon said. “I wouldn’t be a criminal defense attorney if just passing a law stops somebody from breaking it, but at least this should give you some protection and some relief.”
Blackmon said the protections are intended to apply broadly.
“Of course (this bill) helps entertainers and artists—and Mississippi produces a lot of those,” he said. “But more importantly, it protects every single Mississippian.”
Why Supporters Say Existing Laws Fall Short
Billy Newman, an associate teaching professor of legal studies at The University of Southern Mississippi, said traditional intellectual property and privacy laws were not designed to handle AI-generated impersonation.
“That may not sound like a lot to an average person … but it’s a big deal to say that you own your name, you own your image, own your voice, and a lot of the laws say specifically you own it as intellectual property,” Newman said.
Newman said online platforms have turned nearly everyone into a content creator of some kind, blurring the line between public figures and private individuals.
“We are such a niche society now, that our consumption of media is so fragmented and curated thanks to the internet and everything connected with the internet, that everybody to some degree is a celebrity within a small circle,” he said.
He said AI has exposed gaps in the legal system that existing laws have struggled to address.
“The ancient law of defamation was easily adapted to radio and TV. AI—we don’t have a lot of law that we can fall back on,” Newman said. “We’re having to kind of start with the egg, and by statute, by government rules and regulations, and by case law, we’re having to come up with a whole new body of law and do it quickly to give remedies to people who have been victimized and bullied by AI-generated versions of themselves that they didn’t authorize.”
How Creators Say Misuse Affects Real Livelihoods
Sarah Evans is the owner of Snatched by Sarah LLC, a Mississippi-based hair and makeup business that relies heavily on social media to reach clients and showcase her work.
“Social media—this is not a new thing,” Evans said. “I don’t even have a website because that’s how much social media is my website.”
She said sharing her work online is essential to her business, but it also creates vulnerability for both her and her clients.
“That’s my work that I’ve put so much hard work and thought into,” she said. “It’s my clients’ faces too, and they trust me to protect them in a way.”
Evans said friends have already had their content reused without permission and that the lack of clear legal protections can be discouraging.
“It’s very disappointing, and it’s discouraging when you figure out that there’s nothing really that you can do about it,” Evans said.
Evans said identity protections are directly tied to people’s ability to earn a living.
“It should be a right just like all of the other rights that we have as business owners,” she said. “This is something that we count on to generate our income and take care of our families.”
What Happens Next
With Senate committee approvals secured, Senate Bill 2046 next heads to the full Mississippi Senate for a floor vote. If approved, the bill would then move to the House for consideration.
The bill’s movement comes amid a shifting federal approach to artificial intelligence. In December 2025, the president issued an executive order directing federal agencies to establish a national AI policy framework and identify state laws that could be viewed as interfering with that effort.
While the order does not invalidate state laws like Mississippi’s proposal, it signals the possibility of future legal or policy challenges if state-level AI protections are found to conflict with federal standards. For now, Mississippi lawmakers are moving forward with Senate Bill 2046 as Congress continues debating whether and how to establish uniform national rules for artificial intelligence.
This article first appeared on RHCJC and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.