A synthetic version of you becomes illegal at predictable thresholds:
- Commercial use without consent. Right-of-publicity laws in most states cover name, image, and likeness. Tennessee's ELVIS Act (July 2024) explicitly added voice.
- Fraud. A fake CEO voice authorizing a wire transfer is wire fraud. The synthetic medium changes nothing.
- Defamation. A deepfake showing you saying things you never said, published as real, meets the classic elements if it causes reputational harm.
- Intimate imagery. Federally criminal since the TAKE IT DOWN Act (May 2025).
- Election interference. State laws from California to Texas cover deceptive candidate fakes near elections.
What does not break the law: parody, satire, and commentary, which every major statute exempts, plus licensed replicas. Sources: Congress.gov, NCSL The gap Congress keeps circling: a general federal right to your own digital replica. The NO FAKES Act would create exactly that, licensable like any other IP right.