AI Regulation Tracker / Legislation

Mexican Committee Approves Criminal Ban on AI Deepfakes Used to Impersonate People

Regulatory summary: On 9 July 2026 the Comisión de Justicia of Mexico's Cámara de Diputados approved, by 24 votes in favour, zero against, and four abstentions, a dictamen that would add a new Capítulo VI Bis titled "Suplantación de Identidad" (articles 249 Bis 1 to 249 Bis 4) to Título Decimotercero of.

The Cámara de Diputados Comisión de Justicia approved a dictamen adding a new "Suplantación de Identidad" chapter to the Código Penal Federal. Article 249 Bis 2 would criminalise using AI systems to generate or spread deepfake images, audio, or video to make one person pass for another. It is committee-approved, not yet law.

Primary source

By Anthony Guerriero, Founder, The Leveraged Years · Reviewed by The Leveraged Years Editorial Desk · Published July 9, 2026 · Last updated July 9, 2026

Mexican Committee Approves Criminal Ban on AI Deepfakes Used to Impersonate People regulation briefing

The Leveraged Years AI Regulation Tracker

Key takeaways

A committee has approved concrete statutory text. Where earlier proposals were scattered initiatives, the Comisión de Justicia has now consolidated one dictamen that creates a dedicated impersonation chapter and names AI-generated content as a covered method inside article 249 Bis 2. That moves the AI deepfake question from general debate to a specific, voted-on draft.
Developers and vendors of generative AI, voice-cloning, and likeness tools with Mexican users or operations; trust, safety, and compliance teams at platforms that host synthetic media; enterprises whose executives or brands could be impersonated; and Mexican criminal and technology counsel advising on synthetic-media risk.
Status: Approved in the Comisión de Justicia on 9 July 2026 by a vote of 24 in favour, 0 against, 4 abstentions.
Assign someone to monitor the dictamen's progress through the Cámara de Diputados Pleno and the Senado, and start mapping your consent, watermarking, and takedown controls against the conduct described in article 249 Bis 2 so you are ready if the text is enacted.

Regulatory Briefing

Bindingness: None yet. This is a dictamen approved at committee level in one chamber of the Mexican Congress. It expresses the text the Comisión de Justicia is sending forward, but it has no legal force. To become law it must be approved by the full Cámara de Diputados, pass the Senado, and be promulgated and published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación.
Scope: Federal criminal law across Mexico. The proposed chapter sits in the Código Penal Federal and would define identity impersonation, including AI-generated deepfake impersonation, as a federal crime.
What Changed: A committee has approved concrete statutory text. Where earlier proposals were scattered initiatives, the Comisión de Justicia has now consolidated one dictamen that creates a dedicated impersonation chapter and names AI-generated content as a covered method inside article 249 Bis 2. That moves the AI deepfake question from general debate to a specific, voted-on draft.
Who This Affects: Developers and vendors of generative AI, voice-cloning, and likeness tools with Mexican users or operations; trust, safety, and compliance teams at platforms that host synthetic media; enterprises whose executives or brands could be impersonated; and Mexican criminal and technology counsel advising on synthetic-media risk.
Current Status: Approved in the Comisión de Justicia on 9 July 2026 by a vote of 24 in favour, 0 against, 4 abstentions. Forwarded toward the Pleno for further legislative process. Not yet law.
Effective Date: None. No in-force date exists. Any effective date would follow full-Chamber and Senate approval and promulgation.
Primary Source: Dictamen de la Comisión de Justicia que adiciona un Capítulo VI Bis "Suplantación de Identidad" (arts. 249 Bis 1 a 249 Bis 4) al Título Decimotercero del Código Penal Federal, Gaceta Parlamentaria, Cámara de Diputados. Official confirmation: Cámara de Diputados, Comunicación Social, Boletín No. 4178, https://comunicacionsocial.diputados.gob.mx/index.php/boletines/comision-de-justicia-aprobo-tipificar-como-delito-la-suplantacion-de-identidad-digital
Secondary Analysis: El Heraldo de México (9 July 2026); El Imparcial (10 July 2026); López-Dóriga Digital; La Capital; Talla Política.
Workflow Impact: Companies offering synthetic-media capabilities to Mexican users would face a criminal-law baseline for misuse, raising the stakes on consent, provenance, and abuse-reporting controls. Compliance teams would need to track the bill through the Pleno and the Senado before assuming any obligation, and legal teams would need to map how the proposed aggravators apply to technical staff.
Operational Next Step: Assign someone to monitor the dictamen's progress through the Cámara de Diputados Pleno and the Senado, and start mapping your consent, watermarking, and takedown controls against the conduct described in article 249 Bis 2 so you are ready if the text is enacted.
Last Verified: July 10, 2026

Date	Jurisdiction	Rule	Affected professionals	Status or effective date
2026-07-09	Mexico	A committee has approved concrete statutory text. Where earlier proposals were scattered initiatives, the Comisión de Justicia has now consolidated one dictamen that creates a dedicated impersonation chapter and names AI-generated content as a covered method inside article 249 Bis 2. That moves the AI deepfake question from general debate to a specific, voted-on draft.	Developers and vendors of generative AI, voice-cloning, and likeness tools with Mexican users or operations; trust, safety, and compliance teams at platforms that host synthetic media; enterprises whose executives or brands could be impersonated; and Mexican criminal and technology counsel advising on synthetic-media risk.	Approved in the Comisión de Justicia on 9 July 2026 by a vote of 24 in favour, 0 against, 4 abstentions. Forwarded toward the Pleno for further legislative process. Not yet law.

Source File

Instrument: Dictamen adding Capítulo VI Bis "Suplantación de Identidad" (arts. 249 Bis 1 to 249 Bis 4) to Título Decimotercero, Código Penal Federal
Authority: Comisión de Justicia, Cámara de Diputados, Congreso de la Unión (Mexico); chaired by Dip. Julio César Moreno Rivera (Morena)
Date: Approved in committee 9 July 2026 (24 in favour, 0 against, 4 abstentions); forwarded toward the Pleno
Citation: Dictamen de la Comisión de Justicia, Gaceta Parlamentaria, Cámara de Diputados; committee approval reported in Boletín No. 4178
Primary Source: Gaceta Parlamentaria, Cámara de Diputados (dictamen text); official confirmation at https://comunicacionsocial.diputados.gob.mx/index.php/boletines/comision-de-justicia-aprobo-tipificar-como-delito-la-suplantacion-de-identidad-digital
Corroboration: El Heraldo de México (9 July 2026); El Imparcial (10 July 2026); López-Dóriga Digital; La Capital.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it now a crime in Mexico to use AI to impersonate someone?

Not yet. On 9 July 2026 the Comisión de Justicia of the Cámara de Diputados approved a dictamen that would make it a crime. It still needs approval by the full Chamber, the Senate, and promulgation before it becomes law.

Which provision covers AI deepfakes?

Article 249 Bis 2 of the proposed Capítulo VI Bis. It treats as identity impersonation the use of software, applications, or AI systems to generate, manipulate, or spread images, audio, video, or any content to make one person pass for another, or to present such content as real, for illicit purposes.

What are the penalties?

The base offence would carry four to eight years in prison and a fine of 1,000 to 5,000 times the daily UMA value, reported at roughly 117,310 to 586,550 pesos, plus reparation to victims. Penalties rise by up to one half for aggravating factors.

Who counts as an aggravated offender?

Public servants abusing their role, people using specialised technical knowledge in computing or telecommunications, offenders in a relationship of trust with the victim, and cases with vulnerable victims or repeated conduct, among others.

How is this different from Mexico's voice and image copyright reform?

That reform is civil in nature and gives individuals remedies for misuse of their likeness. This dictamen is criminal law that would define AI-enabled impersonation as a federal crime punishable by imprisonment.