Victims Of Explicit Deepfakes Could Sue Under Proposed Law

Forbes

22-05-2025

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of the primary sponsors of the DEFIANCE Act (Photo by Drew ...)
Earlier this week, President Trump signed the Take It Down Act to force platforms to take down deepfake nudes, revenge porn and other types of non-consensual intimate imagery. Building on that momentum, the DEFIANCE Act was reintroduced today to allow victims to sue those who created or shared these explicit images.
The Take It Down Act, already signed into law, requires platforms to remove nonconsensual explicit images within 48 hours of a valid request. Offenders can face fines or up to three years in prison, and platforms that don't comply may be penalized by the FTC.
Today, the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act was reintroduced to fill a gap in the Take It Down Act, allowing the subjects of these images to sue for damages. 'We are reintroducing the DEFIANCE Act to grant survivors and victims of nonconsensual deepfake pornography the legal right to pursue justice,' said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a statement. Like the Take It Down Act, the DEFIANCE Act has bipartisan support, and it passed the Senate last summer unanimously. 'I am proud to lead this legislation with Representative Lee, and Senators Durbin and Graham,' Ocasio-Cortez added. If signed, the law would allow victims to take civil action to seek justice against perpetrators who created, distributed, solicited or published deepfake explicit images.
AI apps now make it easy to take any photo and create realistic nude images of someone without their consent. In addition to these deepfakes, authentic explicit photos can also be shared without permission. A 2019 report by cybersecurity firm DeepTrace found that 96% of online deepfake videos were nonconsensual and pornographic. By 2023, research from another cybersecurity company, Security Hero, showed that deepfake pornography accounted for 98% of all deepfake videos online, 99% of which targeted women.
The new legislation would allow victims to collect compensation for the damage caused by the explicit image. 'Civil recourse is essential because it puts power directly in the hands of victims. Unlike criminal cases, which depend on a prosecutor's decision and are harder to win, civil cases are victim-led and offer a more accessible path to justice,' Omny Miranda Martone, founder and CEO of the Sexual Violence Prevention Association, explained via email. Under the new bill, victims can seek financial restitution for harms, like job loss, therapy or personal security costs.
In addition, the Take It Down Act only applies to explicit content that's shared publicly, but online posting is just one way these images are distributed. When professionals are targeted, perpetrators often use other tactics, such as emailing explicit photos directly to a boss or circulating the images among coworkers.
When Martone was personally attacked with deepfake pornography, the content was posted on social media and emailed to her employer with demands to fire Martone, unaware that Martone was the company CEO. While the Take It Down Act could have helped remove the content posted on social media, the law wouldn't have protected Martone if they had repercussions from the email. 'The DEFIANCE Act fills this gap,' Martone explains. 'It empowers victims to seek justice against those who create, distribute or send explicit images—whether it's posted online, emailed to a boss or shared among coworkers,' they add.
It's worth noting that the sharing of explicit deepfakes is more about exerting control rather than anything sexual. In the workplace, it's used to shame, silence, and undermine women in positions of influence.
It's also important to consider the broader consequences. Explicit deepfake image sharing is a type of objectification that reduces people (typically women) to their physical appearance and can strip them of their power and identity. In addition to the psychological consequences for the victim, there can also be career repercussions.
Research shows that objectified women are seen as less competent, less relatable, and less human. In addition, researchers found that voters were less likely to support political candidates who had been objectified, and that objectified women were perceived as lacking qualities like helpfulness or emotional depth. In other words, exposure to explicit deepfakes may alter one's views about a woman's skills and capabilities.
Whether the harm comes from emotional distress, reputational damage, being seen as less competent, or even a job loss, the DEFIANCE Act offers hope that victims may finally receive some financial restitution. It might even serve as a deterrent, stopping some people from generating the images.