New Federal Law Targets Non-Consensual Deepfakes: Victims Can Sue for Minimum $150,000

The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images And Non-Consensual Edits Act of 2025, or the DEFIANCE Act, is a major move to give victims of non-consensual digital forgeries—better known as deepfakes—a powerful tool for seeking justice. Simply put, this bill expands existing federal civil law to explicitly cover intimate images created using AI or computer generation that falsely depict a person in a sexual context without their consent. The core finding here is that these deepfakes cause profound, real-world harm, classifying them as a form of image-based sexual abuse.

Expanding the Definition of Harm

For those of us who remember the initial laws targeting non-consensual intimate image sharing (sometimes called 'revenge porn'), this bill updates the rules for the digital age. It creates a new category called “intimate digital forgery,” defining it as an AI-created intimate visual depiction that falsely represents an identifiable individual and appears authentic to a reasonable person. Crucially, the bill specifies that even if the image has a label saying it's fake, it can still count as a forgery because the harm to the victim is not mitigated by that label. This is a critical recognition that the damage is done the moment the image is seen, regardless of context.

The New Legal Hammer: Who Pays and How Much?

This is where the law gets real for the people involved. The DEFIANCE Act establishes three grounds for an identifiable individual to sue in federal court. You can sue someone who knowingly produces the forgery, someone who possesses it with the intent to disclose it, or someone who actually discloses it—all without your consent. To ensure victims can actually afford to fight these cases, the law allows them to recover significant damages.

Victims get to choose between actual damages (including any profits the defendant made) or substantial liquidated damages. The baseline is $150,000. If the conduct was tied to sexual assault, stalking, or harassment, that minimum jumps to $250,000. Think of this as a major deterrent: if you’re a creator or sharer of this content, you’re now facing a six-figure lawsuit. Furthermore, judges can award punitive damages, cover the victim’s attorney’s fees and litigation costs, and issue injunctions forcing the defendant to delete the content.

Protecting the Victim’s Privacy

One of the biggest hurdles for victims of image-based abuse is the fear of having their private lives further exposed in court. The DEFIANCE Act addresses this directly by allowing courts to protect the plaintiff’s privacy. This means the victim can use a pseudonym in court filings, and the court can seal sensitive materials during discovery. This is huge for victims who want justice without sacrificing their identity or safety. The law also gives victims a long window to act, setting a statute of limitations of 10 years from when they reasonably discover the violation, or until they turn 28 if they were a minor when the abuse occurred.