Privacy: use of a person’s name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness: injunctive relief.

Senator Cortese's privacy legislation expands legal remedies for Californians whose names, voices, signatures, photographs, or likenesses are used without authorization by adding injunctive relief to existing monetary damages provisions. The bill amends Section 3344 of the Civil Code to allow parties to seek temporary restraining orders and injunctions against unauthorized commercial use of their personal identifiers.

Under the new provisions, when courts grant temporary restraining orders requiring removal or cessation of unauthorized content, respondents must comply within two business days of being served unless the order specifies a shorter timeline. The bill maintains existing statutory damages of $750 or actual damages, whichever is greater, while preserving exemptions for news reporting, public affairs coverage, sports broadcasts, and political campaigns.

The amendments preserve the law's detailed framework for determining when individuals are "readily identifiable" in photographs and distinguishing between individual representation and inclusion in definable groups like crowds or teams. The bill retains protections for media outlets and platforms that unknowingly publish unauthorized content, while keeping intact the requirement that commercial uses obtain prior consent, including parental consent for minors.