§ 98C.001.Definitions

Three definitions for a chapter enacted in 2025.

"Online impersonation" means a person's use of an individual's name, voice, signature, or likeness in visual material on a social media platform without that individual's consent — or, if the individual is a minor, without the consent of a parent, legal guardian, or managing conservator.

Four attributes are protected: name, voice, signature, and likeness. Voice is a notable inclusion, and it addresses synthesised audio directly.

Two limits are built into the definition. The use must be in visual material, and it must be on a social media platform. Impersonation by text message, by email, or on a website that is not a social media platform is outside the chapter.

"Visual material" takes its meaning from the Penal Code, and "social media platform" from the Business & Commerce Code — the same definition the intimate visual material chapter uses.

The minor provision is protective in a specific way: a minor cannot consent for themselves. Consent must come from a parent, legal guardian, or managing conservator.

The chapter sits directly alongside the artificial intimate visual material provisions enacted in the same session. Both address AI-generated depictions of real people, and this one covers the non-intimate case.