AB 855

Under current law, it is generally a Class I felony to capture or distribute representations depicting nudity without the consent of the person depicted. This bill provides criminal penalties to any person who creates and distributes what are commonly known as “deepfakes.”

This bill provides that it is a Class A misdemeanor to create and post, publish, distribute, or exhibit a synthetic digital representation with intent to coerce, harass, or intimidate any individual or a Class I felony to do so with intent to defraud, coerce, or intimidate any individual for monetary gain.

This bill defines a “synthetic digital representation” as a visual or audio representation to which all of the following apply:

1. It was generated, altered, or otherwise manipulated using technological means.

2. It uses an individual’s recognizable personal characteristic.

3. It would appear to a reasonable observer to be an authentic representation of an individual’s speech, conduct, or likeness.

4. It was generated, altered, or otherwise manipulated without the consent of the individual depicted in the representation.

Under current law, a Class A misdemeanor is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to nine months, or both, and a Class I felony is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to three years and six months, or both.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report.