This bill, called the DEFIANCE Act of 2025, adds a federal civil remedy for people harmed by non-consensual "intimate digital forgeries" (often called deepfakes). It defines an intimate digital forgery as an intimate image or video that falsely represents a person or the intimate conduct, is made with software or other technology, and is indistinguishable from a real image to a reasonable viewer. The law lets an identifiable person sue in federal court when someone knowingly produced, possessed with intent to disclose, disclosed, or solicited an intimate digital forgery without the person's consent, or when someone disclosed an intimate image without consent. The bill requires that the defendant knew or recklessly disregarded the lack of consent and that the conduct involved interstate or foreign commerce or used interstate facilities. Remedies include set (liquidated) damages of $150,000 (or $250,000 in certain aggravated cases), actual damages (including defendant profits), attorney fees and costs, punitive damages, and injunctive relief such as orders to delete or stop displaying the content. Courts may protect a plaintiff's privacy (for example, allow a pseudonym or seal filings). The bill sets a 10-year statute of limitations measured from discovery or from when a victim turns 18. It also says federal law does not prevent States or Tribal governments from keeping or creating laws that are at least as protective, and it includes severability and a rule that it does not change intellectual property law.
Supporters say the bill recognizes harms from non-consensual intimate digital forgeries, including privacy violation, stigma, emotional harm, and risks like extortion or interference with work or school. The bill aims to give victims clear civil remedies, tools to stop disclosure, and financial recovery when content is produced or shared without consent.
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