118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3696 

AN ACT 

To improve rights to relief for individuals affected by nonconsensual activities involving intimate digital forgeries, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
2 

†S 3696 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disrupt Explicit 

3 Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act of 2024’’ 

4 or the ‘‘DEFIANCE Act of 2024’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds that: 

7 (1) Digital forgeries, often called deepfakes, are 

8 synthetic images and videos that look realistic. The 

9 technology to create digital forgeries is now ubiq10 uitous and easy to use. Hundreds of apps are avail11 able that can quickly generate digital forgeries with12 out the need for any technical expertise. 

13 (2) Digital forgeries can be wholly fictitious but 

14 can also manipulate images of real people to depict 

15 sexually intimate conduct that did not occur. For ex16 ample, some digital forgeries will paste the face of 

17 an individual onto the body of a real or fictitious in18 dividual who is nude or who is engaging in sexual 

19 activity. Another example is a photograph of an indi20 vidual that is manipulated to digitally remove the 

21 clothing of the individual so that the person appears 

22 to be nude. 

23 (3) The individuals depicted in such digital for24 geries are profoundly harmed when the content is 

25 produced, disclosed, or obtained without the consent 

26 of those individuals. These harms are not mitigated 
3 

†S 3696 ES

1 through labels or other information that indicates 

2 that the depiction is fake. 

3 (4) It can be destabilizing to victims whenever 

4 those victims are depicted in sexual digital forgeries 

5 against their will, as the privacy of those victims is 

6 violated and the victims lose control over their like7 ness and identity. 

8 (5) Victims can feel helpless because the vic9 tims— 

10 (A) may not be able to determine who has 

11 created the content; and 

12 (B) do not know how to prevent further 

13 disclosure of the digital forgery or how to pre14 vent more forgeries from being made. 

15 (6) Victims may be fearful of being in public 

16 out of concern that individuals the victims encounter 

17 have seen the digital forgeries. This leads to social 

18 rupture through the loss of the ability to trust, stig19 matization, and isolation. 

20 (7) Victims of non-consensual, sexually intimate 

21 digital forgeries may experience depression, anxiety, 

22 and suicidal ideation. These victims may also experi23 ence the ‘‘silencing effect’’ in which the victims with24 draw from online spaces and public discourse to 

25 avoid further abuse. 
4 

†S 3696 ES

1 (8) Digital forgeries are often used to— 

2 (A) harass victims, interfering with their 

3 employment, education, reputation, or sense of 

4 safety; or 

5 (B) commit extortion, sexual assault, do6 mestic violence, and other crimes. 

7 (9) Because of the harms caused by non-con8 sensual, sexually intimate digital forgeries, such dig9 ital forgeries are considered to be a form of image10 based sexual abuse. 

11 SEC. 3. CIVIL ACTION RELATING TO DISCLOSURE OF INTI12 MATE IMAGES. 

13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1309 of the Consolidated 

14 Appropriations Act, 2022 (15 U.S.C. 6851) is amended— 

15 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘OR NON16 CONSENSUAL ACTIVITY INVOLVING DIGITAL

17 FORGERIES’’ after ‘‘INTIMATE IMAGES’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘com20 petent,’’ after ‘‘conscious,’’; 

21 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and 

22 (6) as paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively; 

23 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

24 paragraph (5); 
5 

†S 3696 ES

1 (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(3) DIGITAL FORGERY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘digital for5 gery’ means any intimate visual depiction of an 

6 identifiable individual created through the use 

7 of software, machine learning, artificial intel8 ligence, or any other computer-generated or 

9 technological means, including by adapting, 

10 modifying, manipulating, or altering an authen11 tic visual depiction, that, when viewed as a 

12 whole by a reasonable person, is indistinguish13 able from an authentic visual depiction of the 

14 individual. 

15 ‘‘(B) LABELS, DISCLOSURE, AND CON16 TEXT.—Any visual depiction described in sub17 paragraph (A) constitutes a digital forgery for 

18 purposes of this paragraph regardless of wheth19 er a label, information disclosed with the visual 

20 depiction, or the context or setting in which the 

21 visual depiction is disclosed states or implies 

22 that the visual depiction is not authentic.’’; 

23 (E) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘(5) DEPICTED’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘(5) IDENTIFIABLE’’; and 
6 

†S 3696 ES

1 (ii) by striking ‘‘depicted individual’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘identifiable individual’’; and 

3 (F) in paragraph (6)(A), as so redesig4 nated— 

5 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and 

6 inserting a semicolon; 

7 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

8 (I) in subclause (I), by striking 

9 ‘‘individual;’’ and inserting ‘‘indi10 vidual; or’’; and 

11 (II) by striking subclause (III); 

12 and 

13 (iii) by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(iii) an identifiable individual engag16 ing in sexually explicit conduct; and’’. 

17 (b) CIVIL ACTION.—Section 1309(b) of the Consoli18 dated Appropriations Act, 2022 (15 U.S.C. 6851(b)) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) by striking paragraph (A) and insert22 ing the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

24 paragraph (5)— 
7 

†S 3696 ES

1 ‘‘(i) an identifiable individual whose 

2 intimate visual depiction is disclosed, in or 

3 affecting interstate or foreign commerce or 

4 using any means or facility of interstate or 

5 foreign commerce, without the consent of 

6 the identifiable individual, where such dis7 closure was made by a person who knows 

8 or recklessly disregards that the identifi9 able individual has not consented to such 

10 disclosure, may bring a civil action against 

11 that person in an appropriate district court 

12 of the United States for relief as set forth 

13 in paragraph (3); 

14 ‘‘(ii) an identifiable individual who is 

15 the subject of a digital forgery may bring 

16 a civil action in an appropriate district 

17 court of the United States for relief as set 

18 forth in paragraph (3) against any person 

19 that knowingly produced or possessed the 

20 digital forgery with intent to disclose it, or 

21 knowingly disclosed or solicited the digital 

22 forgery, if— 

23 ‘‘(I) the identifiable individual 

24 did not consent to such production or 
8 

†S 3696 ES

1 possession with intent to disclose, dis2 closure, or solicitation; 

3 ‘‘(II) the person knew or reck4 lessly disregarded that the identifiable 

5 individual did not consent to such pro6 duction or possession with intent to 

7 disclose, disclosure, or solicitation; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(III) such production, disclo10 sure, solicitation, or possession is in 

11 or affects interstate or foreign com12 merce or uses any means or facility of 

13 interstate or foreign commerce; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) an identifiable individual who is 

15 the subject of a digital forgery may bring 

16 a civil action in an appropriate district 

17 court of the United States for relief as set 

18 forth in paragraph (3) against any person 

19 that knowingly produced the digital forgery 

20 if— 

21 ‘‘(I) the identifiable individual 

22 did not consent to such production; 

23 ‘‘(II) the person knew or reck24 lessly disregarded that the identifiable 

25 individual— 
9 

†S 3696 ES

1 ‘‘(aa) did not consent to 

2 such production; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) was harmed, or was 

4 reasonably likely to be harmed, 

5 by the production; and 

6 ‘‘(III) such production is in or 

7 affects interstate or foreign commerce 

8 or uses any means or facility of inter9 state or foreign commerce.’’; and 

10 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

11 (i) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘IDEN12 TIFIABLE’’ before ‘‘INDIVIDUALS’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘an individual who is 

14 under 18 years of age, incompetent, inca15 pacitated, or deceased, the legal guardian 

16 of the individual’’ and inserting ‘‘an identi17 fiable individual who is under 18 years of 

18 age, incompetent, incapacitated, or de19 ceased, the legal guardian of the identifi20 able individual’’; 

21 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

23 (i) by inserting ‘‘identifiable’’ before 

24 ‘‘individual’’; 
10 

†S 3696 ES

1 (ii) by striking ‘‘depiction’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘intimate visual depiction or digital 

3 forgery’’; and 

4 (iii) by striking ‘‘distribution’’ and in5 serting ‘‘disclosure, solicitation, or posses6 sion’’; and 

7 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘identifiable’’ before 

9 individual; 

10 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or digital forgery’’ 

11 after each place the term ‘‘depiction’’ ap12 pears; and 

13 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, solicitation, or 

14 possession’’ after ‘‘disclosure’’; 

15 (3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para16 graph (5); 

17 (4) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(3) RELIEF.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In a civil action filed 

21 under this section, an identifiable individual 

22 may recover— 

23 ‘‘(i) damages as provided under sub24 paragraph (C); and 
11 

†S 3696 ES

1 ‘‘(ii) the cost of the action, including 

2 reasonable attorney fees and other litiga3 tion costs reasonably incurred. 

4 ‘‘(B) PUNITIVE DAMAGES AND OTHER RE5 LIEF.—The court may, in addition to any other 

6 relief available at law, award punitive damages 

7 or order equitable relief, including a temporary 

8 restraining order, a preliminary injunction, or a 

9 permanent injunction ordering the defendant to 

10 delete, destroy, or cease display or disclosure of 

11 the intimate visual depiction or digital forgery. 

12 ‘‘(C) DAMAGES.—For purposes of subpara13 graph (A)(i), the identifiable individual may re14 cover— 

15 ‘‘(i) liquidated damages in the amount 

16 of— 

17 ‘‘(I) $150,000; or 

18 ‘‘(II) $250,000 if the conduct at 

19 issue in the claim was— 

20 ‘‘(aa) committed in relation 

21 to actual or attempted sexual as22 sault, stalking, or harassment of 

23 the identifiable individual by the 

24 defendant; or 
12 

†S 3696 ES

1 ‘‘(bb) the direct and proxi2 mate cause of actual or at3 tempted sexual assault, stalking, 

4 or harassment of the identifiable 

5 individual by any person; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) actual damages sustained by the 

7 individual, which shall include any profits 

8 of the defendant that are attributable to 

9 the conduct at issue in the claim that are 

10 not otherwise taken into account in com11 puting the actual damages. 

12 ‘‘(D) CALCULATION OF DEFENDANT’S

13 PROFIT.—For purposes of subparagraph (C)(ii), 

14 to establish the defendant’s profits, the identifi15 able individual shall be required to present 

16 proof only of the gross revenue of the defend17 ant, and the defendant shall be required to 

18 prove the deductible expenses of the defendant 

19 and the elements of profit attributable to fac20 tors other than the conduct at issue in the 

21 claim. 

22 ‘‘(4) PRESERVATION OF PRIVACY.—In a civil 

23 action filed under this section, the court may issue 

24 an order to protect the privacy of a plaintiff, includ25 ing by— 
13 

†S 3696 ES

1 ‘‘(A) permitting the plaintiff to use a pseu2 donym; 

3 ‘‘(B) requiring the parties to redact the 

4 personal identifying information of the plaintiff 

5 from any public filing, or to file such documents 

6 under seal; and 

7 ‘‘(C) issuing a protective order for pur8 poses of discovery, which may include an order 

9 indicating that any intimate visual depiction or 

10 digital forgery shall remain in the care, custody, 

11 and control of the court.’’; 

12 (5) in paragraph (5)(A), as so redesignated— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘image’’ and inserting ‘‘vis14 ual depiction or digital forgery’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘depicted’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘identifiable’’; and 

17 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(6) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Any action 

19 commenced under this section shall be barred unless 

20 the complaint is filed not later than 10 years from 

21 the later of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the date on which the identifiable in23 dividual reasonably discovers the violation that 

24 forms the basis for the claim; or 
14 

†S 3696 ES

1 ‘‘(B) the date on which the identifiable in2 dividual reaches 18 years of age. 

3 ‘‘(7) DUPLICATIVE RECOVERY BARRED.—No re4 lief may be ordered under paragraph (3) against a 

5 person who is subject to a judgment under section 

6 2255 of title 18, United States Code, for the same 

7 conduct involving the same identifiable individual 

8 and the same intimate visual depiction or digital for9 gery.’’. 

10 (c) CONTINUED APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL, 

11 STATE, AND TRIBAL LAW.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall not be con13 strued to impair, supersede, or limit a provision of 

14 Federal, State, or Tribal law. 

15 (2) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this Act 

16 shall prohibit a State or Tribal government from 

17 adopting and enforcing a provision of law governing 

18 disclosure of intimate images or nonconsensual activ19 ity involving a digital forgery, as defined in section 

20 1309(a) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

21 2022 (15 U.S.C. 6851(a)), as amended by this Act, 

22 that is at least as protective of the rights of a victim 

23 as this Act. 
15 

†S 3696 ES

1 SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 

2 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 

3 this Act, or the application of such a provision or amend4 ment to any person or circumstance, is held to be uncon5 stitutional, the remaining provisions of and amendments 

6 made by this Act, and the application of the provision or 

7 amendment held to be unconstitutional to any other per8 son or circumstance, shall not be affected thereby. 

Passed the Senate July 23, 2024. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3696 

AN ACT 

To improve rights to relief for individuals affected 

digital forgeries, and for other purposes. by non-consensual activities involving intimate