Assembly Bill 855
Synthetic digital representations and providing a penalty
Topics: Crime and criminals, Crime and criminals: Felony, Data processing: Privacy issues, Legislature: Criminal Penalties, Joint Review Committee on
Stopped in committee
It never got a , so it never came up for a vote. The last day for votes this session was Mar 19, 2026. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
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Introduced, passed
Jan 16, 2026
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Senate vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Mar 23, 2026: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety. The committee's chair at the time was John Spiros. Chairs decide which bills get a hearing. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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The same bill was also filed in the Senate as SB 815. That version died when the session ended.
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
Under current law, it is generally a Class I felony to capture or distribute representations depicting nudity without the consent of the person depicted. This bill provides criminal penalties to any person who creates and distributes what are commonly known as “deepfakes.” This bill provides that it is a Class A misdemeanor to create and post, publish, distribute, or exhibit a synthetic digital representation with intent to coerce, harass, or intimidate any individual or a Class I felony to do so with intent to defraud, coerce, or intimidate any individual for monetary gain.
This bill defines a “synthetic digital representation” as a visual or audio representation to which all of the following apply:
Read the full summary Show less
1. It was generated, altered, or otherwise manipulated using technological means.
2. It uses an individual’s recognizable personal characteristic.
3. It would appear to a reasonable observer to be an authentic representation of an individual’s speech, conduct, or likeness.
4. It was generated, altered, or otherwise manipulated without the consent of the individual depicted in the representation.
Under current law, a Class A misdemeanor is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to nine months, or both, and a Class I felony is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to three years and six months, or both.
Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report.
Who's behind it
12 representatives are its . All 12 are Democrats.
7 more lawmakers .
See all 19 names Hide the names
Authors (12)
- Margaret Arney · Democrat, Assembly
- Karen DeSanto · Democrat, Assembly
- Joan Fitzgerald · Democrat, Assembly
- Jenna Jacobson · Democrat, Assembly
- Tara Johnson · Democrat, Assembly
- Maureen McCarville · Democrat, Assembly
- Vinnie Miresse · Democrat, Assembly
- Ann Roe · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Shelia Stubbs · Democrat, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- Randy Udell · Democrat, Assembly
Signed on in support (7)
- Kristin Dassler-Alfheim · Democrat, Senate
- Jodi Habush Sinykin · Democrat, Senate
- Sarah Keyeski · Democrat, Senate
- Renuka Mayadev · Democrat, Assembly
- Kelda Roys · Democrat, Senate
- Mark Spreitzer · Democrat, Senate
- Jamie Wall · Democrat, Senate
What happened
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Mar 19, 2026
1 more representative signed on in support.
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Jan 16, 2026
Sent to the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.
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Jan 16, 2026
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Jan 16, 2026 · Assembly
Introduced by Representatives J. Jacobson, McCarville, DeSanto, Sinicki, Arney, Roe, Fitzgerald, Udell, Subeck, Johnson, Stubbs and Miresse; cosponsored by Senators Keyeski, Dassler-Alfheim, Habush Sinykin, Wall, Roys and Spreitzer
- Jan 16, 2026 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety
- Mar 19, 2026 · Assembly
Representative Mayadev added as a coauthor
- Mar 23, 2026 · Assembly
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor