Overview
- The Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies approved the draft reform to the Federal Penal Code by a 24–4 abstention vote, a decision reported across outlets on July 10–11.
- The proposal creates a new Chapter Sexto Bis (articles 249 Bis 1–4) that makes using another person’s digital identity without consent a crime aimed at getting an undue benefit or causing harm.
- The draft equates AI‑generated or AI‑manipulated images, audio and video used to impersonate someone with other forms of identity theft and lists passwords, verification codes, digital certificates, electronic signatures, accounts, profiles and biometrics as covered authentication means.
- It sets prison terms of four to eight years and fines roughly between MXN 117,310 and MXN 586,550, with higher penalties when the perpetrator is a public servant or a tech specialist and when victims are children, older adults, women, people with disabilities or otherwise vulnerable.
- The measure is not yet law: it must be debated and voted in the full Chamber and follow later legislative steps, and experts warn practical hurdles such as technical evidence standards, law‑enforcement capacity and coordination with data‑protection rules.