Deepfake pornography.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify an effective date for when the law will start being enforced.

Deepfake Pornography Law

This law makes it illegal for someone to create or share deepfake pornography involving minors and increases penalties for those who help make or spread such content.

What This Bill Does

• Adds new rules about creating or sharing deepfake pornography involving minors.
• Allows people whose images were used in deepfakes without their consent to sue others who helped create or share this content.
• Defines 'digitized sexually explicit material' as any image or video that shows someone nude or engaging in sexual acts, created through digital means.
• Makes companies providing services for deepfake pornography liable if they don't stop helping when told about illegal activities within 30 days.

Who It Names or Affects

• People whose images are used in deepfakes without their consent, especially minors.
• Individuals or companies that create or share deepfake pornography.
• Companies that provide services to help make or spread deepfake pornography.

Terms To Know

Deepfake

A video or image created using artificial intelligence technology, showing someone doing something they did not actually do.

Digitized sexually explicit material

Any visual content that shows a person nude or engaging in sexual acts and was made or changed through digital means.

Limits and Unknowns

• The law does not specify when it will start to be enforced.
• It is unclear how this law will affect international companies providing services for deepfake pornography.
• The exact steps required by service providers to stop helping with illegal activities are not detailed.

Official Summary Text

AB 621, Bauer-Kahan.
Deepfake pornography.
Existing law grants to a depicted individual a cause of action against a person who creates and intentionally discloses sexually explicit material if the person knows, or reasonably should have known, that the depicted individual in that material did not consent to its creation or disclosure or who intentionally discloses sexually explicit material that the person did not create if the person knows the depicted individual in that material did not consent to the creation of the sexually explicit material. Existing law defines “sexually explicit material” for purposes of that provision to mean any portion of an audiovisual work that shows the depicted individual performing in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct and defines “depicted individual” to mean an individual who appears, as a result of digitization, to be giving a performance the individual did
not actually perform or to be performing in an altered depiction. Existing law authorizes a plaintiff to recover, among other relief, statutory damages of not less than $1,500 but not more than $30,000, or $150,000 for a malicious violation, as prescribed.
This bill would revise and recast the provision described above to additionally grant to a depicted individual a cause of action against a person who knows, or reasonably should know, that the depicted individual was a minor when the digitized sexually explicit material was created and would additionally grant a cause of action to that depicted individual against a person who knowingly facilitates or recklessly aids or abets conduct prohibited by that provision. The bill would define “digitized sexually explicit material” to mean any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to
engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
This bill would make a person that provides a service that enables the ongoing operation of a deepfake pornography service presumed to be engaged in knowing facilitation or reckless aiding or abetting, as described above, if a depicted individual or public prosecutor provides the person with evidence sufficient to demonstrate that the person is providing services that enable the ongoing operation of a deepfake pornography service that engages in conduct described in the provisions described above, and the person fails to take all necessary steps to stop providing services that enable the ongoing operation of a deepfake pornography service within 30 days of receiving that evidence, as specified. This bill would increase the maximum statutory damages available to a depicted individual to $50,000 if the violation was not malicious and $250,000 for a malicious violation and would authorize certain public attorneys to
bring a civil action to enforce these provisions, as specified.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF