DEFIANCE Act of 2025
The DEFIANCE Act of 2025 creates and expands federal civil remedies for individuals harmed by non-consensual intimate digital forgeries (commonly called deepfakes) and by non-consensual disclosure or distribution of intimate images or those forgeries. It adds a new federal civil action under a broadened framework (amending provisions from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022) to allow identifiable individuals to sue those who knowingly produced, possessed with intent to disclose, disclosed, or solicited/distributed such materials. The bill establishes damages (including significant statutory damages), allows additional relief such as injunctions and privacy protections for plaintiffs, and sets a 10-year statute of limitations. It preserves existing federal, state, and tribal laws and allows states to adopt at least as protective measures. In short, the bill aims to deter and remedy the harms caused by intimate digital forgeries and non-consensual disclosures by creating a robust federal civil pathway for victims to obtain damages, punitive relief, and orders to remove or stop displaying the material, while also protecting the victim’s privacy in the process.
Key Points
- 1New civil action for victims: Establishes a federal cause of action for identifiable individuals harmed by intimate digital forgeries or non-consensual disclosures/disclosures of intimate content, with the ability to sue in federal court for relief.
- 2Definitions:
- 3- Identifiable individual: a person whose face or distinguishing features appear in the image or forgery.
- 4- Intimate digital forgery: AI or computer-generated or manipulated imagery that falsely represents the individual or intimate conduct, and is indistinguishable from an authentic depiction when viewed as a whole, regardless of labels or context.
- 5- The law treats intimate digital forgeries as a form of image-based sexual abuse.
- 6Where defendants are liable: Those who knowingly produced, possessed with intent to disclose, disclosed, or knowingly solicited/received the forgery, if the victim did not consent and the conduct crosses interstate or foreign commerce or uses interstate facilities.
- 7Damages and relief:
- 8- Liquidated damages: either $150,000 or $250,000 if aggravated by related sexual assault, stalking, harassment, or direct/proximate harm caused by the conduct.
- 9- Actual damages: including profits earned by the defendant attributable to the misconduct.
- 10- Additional relief: punitive damages, temporary or permanent injunctions, and orders to delete or cease displaying the material.
- 11- Legal costs: victims may recover costs of the action and reasonable attorney fees.
- 12Privacy protections for plaintiffs: Courts may allow pseudonyms, redact personal information in filings, seal filings, and issue protective orders to limit discovery and handling of sensitive materials.
- 13Statute of limitations: Actions must be filed within 10 years of either discovery of the violation or the victim reaching 18 years old, whichever is later.
- 14Non-duplication of recovery: No relief under this act for the same conduct if the defendant has already been adjudicated under a federal judgment (18 U.S.C. 2255) for the same material.
- 15Preservation of other laws: The act does not impair federal, state, or tribal law; states can enact or enforce protections for intimate images or non-consensual digital forgeries that are at least as protective.
- 16Severability and construction: If any provision is unconstitutional, the rest remain in effect; the act does not expand or limit intellectual property law beyond its scope.