Relating to the prosecution and punishment of the offense of unlawful production or distribution of certain sexually explicit media; increasing a criminal penalty.

89(R) SB 442 - House Committee Report version - Bill Text

By: Hinojosa of Hidalgo, et al.

S.B. No. 442

(Fairly)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the prosecution and punishment of the offense of

unlawful production or distribution of certain sexually explicit

media; increasing a criminal penalty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. The heading to Section 21.165, Penal Code, is

amended to read as follows:

Sec. 21.165. UNLAWFUL PRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION OF CERTAIN

SEXUALLY EXPLICIT
MEDIA
[
VIDEOS
].

SECTION 2. Section 21.165(a), Penal Code, is amended by

amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (3) to read as

follows:

(1) "Deep fake
media
[
video
]" means
a visual depiction

[
a video,
] created
or altered through
[
with
] the
use of software,

machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other

computer-generated or technological means, including by adapting,

modifying, manipulating, or altering an authentic visual depiction

manually or through an automated process
[
intent to deceive
], that

appears
to a reasonable person
to depict a real person
,

indistinguishable from an authentic visual depiction of the real

person,
performing an action that did not occur in reality.

(3)

"Visual depiction" means a photograph, motion

picture film, videotape, digital image or video, or other visual

recording.

SECTION 3. Section 21.165, Penal Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (b-1),

(c-1), and (c-2) to read as follows:

(b) A person commits an offense if, without the effective

consent of the person appearing to be depicted, the person

knowingly produces or distributes by electronic means [
a
] deep fake

media
[
video
] that appears to depict the person
:

(1)

with visible computer-generated intimate parts or

with the visible intimate parts of another human being as the

intimate parts of the person; or

(2)

engaging in sexual conduct in which the person did

not engage
[
with the person's intimate parts exposed or engaged in

sexual conduct
].

(b-1)

Consent required by Subsection (b) is valid only if

the person appearing to be depicted knowingly and voluntarily

signed a written agreement that was drafted in plain language.

The

agreement must include:

(1) a general description of the deep fake media; and

(2)

if applicable, the audiovisual work into which the

deep fake media will be incorporated.

(c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor
,

except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if it is

shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has been

previously convicted of an offense under this section
.

(c-1)

It is not a defense to prosecution under this section

that the deep fake media:

(1)

contains a disclaimer stating that the media was

unauthorized or that the person appearing to be depicted did not

participate in the creation or development of the deep fake media;

or

(2)

indicates, through a label or otherwise, that the

depiction is not authentic.

(c-2)

It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this

section that the production or distribution of the deep fake media

occurs in the course of:

(1)

lawful and common practices of law enforcement or

medical treatment;

(2) reporting unlawful activity; or

(3)

a legal proceeding, if the production or

distribution is permitted or required by law.

SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An

offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed

by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the

former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of

this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of

this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.