Deepfake pornography.

Assembly Members Bauer-Kahan and Berman have proposed legislation expanding California's legal framework against digitally manipulated sexual content, introducing new protections for individuals depicted in deepfake pornography and establishing liability for service providers that enable its creation or distribution.

The bill creates additional causes of action for depicted individuals, allowing them to pursue legal remedies against those who create or share digitized sexually explicit material without consent, particularly when the content involves minors. It also establishes liability for parties that knowingly facilitate such activities. Service providers face a presumption of liability if they continue supporting deepfake pornography services for more than 30 days after receiving evidence of violations.

Under the proposed changes, statutory damages would increase to a maximum of $50,000 for standard violations and $250,000 for malicious violations. Public prosecutors would gain authority to pursue civil enforcement actions, with the ability to seek penalties of $25,000 per violation or $50,000 for malicious conduct. The legislation maintains exemptions for legitimate public interest content, law enforcement activities, and legal proceedings while nullifying certain defenses based on disclaimers about unauthorized participation.

The bill requires consent agreements to be written in plain language and signed knowingly and voluntarily, with a three-day rescission period unless additional protections are in place. It preserves a three-year statute of limitations from when violations are discovered and includes provisions ensuring the law's severability and compatibility with federal protections.