Georgia lawmakers are advancing Senate Bill 594, a measure that would create a new criminal offense of digital identity fraud for people who use or mimic another person’s identity on social media platforms with intent to deceive others, cause harm or commit fraud. The proposal would put unauthorized use of a person’s name, image, identifying information or profile details into a dedicated identity-fraud category rather than leaving the conduct to broader fraud or impersonation statutes.
The bill says a person commits digital identity fraud when, using a social media platform and without authorization, that person uses an individual’s identity or creates a profile that mimics the individual for deceptive or fraudulent purposes.
On the criminal side, a conviction would carry one to 20 years in prison, a fine between $1,000 and $500,000, or both. The bill would also establish a civil cause of action for the person whose identity was used or mimicked, with attorney’s fees available to a prevailing plaintiff.
SB 594 also places response obligations on platform operators. After receiving notice of alleged digital identity fraud, an operator would have to make a good-faith evaluation within 72 hours, excluding weekend hours. If the platform receives a police incident report or other official communication from a Georgia law-enforcement officer or agency, it would have to restrict the reported content or activity from public access within 48 hours, also excluding weekend hours. Civil fines could reach $5,000 for ordinary notice violations and $50,000 for failures tied to law-enforcement notice.
A Georgia House composite status report dated March 16 shows the bill after Senate action and now in the House Technology and Infrastructure Committee. The measure arrives as vendors keep expanding AI-driven impersonation and synthetic fraud defenses and deploy deepfake detection across voice, image and text to address attacks that increasingly blur identity theft, social engineering and manipulated media.
If enacted, the bill would take effect on July 1, 2026. Its structure treats digital impersonation as both a criminal and civil identity issue, while pushing platforms into a faster review-and-restriction model when users or law-enforcement agencies flag a false identity.
Sources: Georgia General Assembly, LegiScan
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By Ali Nassar-Smith
